


Kissed

by Cheezbuckets



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Belligerent Sexual Tension, Blood and Violence, Emotional Slowburn, Human/Vampire Relationship, M/M, Magical Bond, Past Child Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Past Torture, Sexual Tension, Tags May Change, Vampire Hunters, Vampires, i have no idea how to tag stuff lmao, it's vampire romance just go with it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-04-04 00:09:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 28,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14007843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheezbuckets/pseuds/Cheezbuckets
Summary: Just one night, just one chance meeting, could that possibly be enough to overturn a lifetime of training? How could one night disrupt everything Roxas had thought he had known about himself, destroy the carefully-crafted illusion he held of the world? Well, it can't. It won't. He won't let it happen. He knows his role, and this vampire will not change anything.





	1. Encounter

All of the evidence drawn from innumerable years of innumerable hunters' experiences said that rumours of a "glamour"–a vaguely-defined "spell" to enchant, seduce, manipulate, coerce against the will–were inarguably false. Roxas had been taught his entire life, it being literally beaten into him more than once, that the teachings of those before him were absolute and never to be doubted. Doubt was the enemy. Doubt and fear. Indulge in doubt or fear, and you would surely, swiftly die. The enemy did not doubt, could not fear, so, to defeat them, hunters could not let themselves feel those distractions either.  
  
So, Roxas had no choice but to find out what had really happened to him that night when one look, one second had been enough to turn his legs to jelly and set his blood aflame.  
  
It had been a dark, boring night, the fifth he'd been there, of patrolling around the city, mostly hoping for luck in bumping into his prey. He really didn't care enough to try any harder than that. Over a dozen victims of a vampire attack, but none of them killed or even hurt that badly. This vampire was just taunting the citizenry or trying to toy with a hunter. In the scheme of things, this was an incredibly low-priority job for a hunter, but Roxas had been nearby and had no summons for more pressing matters, so he was taking advantage of the free room and board to get some rest by day and lazily wandered about town at night. If the rich, prideful people of the city were so afraid of being bitten that they'd hire him for far more than usual to catch a mild nuisance, he wasn't going to complain.  
  
Then he finally heard an unmistakable shriek of surprise and pain and ran to investigate.  
  
It _had_  to be a spell of some kind causing their meeting to replay in minute detail whenever Roxas daydreamed, which began to happen unusually often: running towards the shrill scream coming from the courtyard lit by the full moon; seeing the frightened young maiden on the ground staring at him, surrounded by her glowingly white skirts and clutching her neck; looking up to that tall, dark-cloaked figure standing on the wall, silhouetted by the moon, eyes glinting, fangs shining, single rivulet of blood dripping down his chin, wild hair blowing about his head. It was all too perfect, all rather staged, Roxas realized after he had a chance to let it sink in. Too perfect, and yet he could not resist. He had never desired another human so badly in his life surrounded by elderly mentors, frightened victims, and heartless monsters. Sometimes, the dreams varied, in the location or the victim, but two things stayed the same: the man staring down at him with that grin before vanishing like a shadow, and that indescribable feeling that clenched Roxas' chest at the sight of him.  
  
The young woman stared at the ground, tears staining her face, when he, somewhat begrudgingly, escorted her home, not even looking at him when she unexpectedly kissed his cheek before darting inside. He was used to frightened victims acting erratically and unexpectedly.  
  
He'd spent another few dazed and confused days, dreaming by day and pursuing a ghost at night. It was impossible that the vampire had somehow "charmed" him to be so pulled towards him after just a look as every hunter before attested, so he _had_  to find this creature, catch him, and interrogate him through any means necessary to find out what he had actually done.  
  
When stories came from the next town of a series of non-lethal attacks by a vampire of similar description, Roxas barely waited long enough for his employers to thank him profusely for scaring the menace off before moving on. It was now obvious, at least, what the vampire was trying to do.  
  
It continued for nearly two weeks, hopping from town to town in a game of cat and mouse, during which time Roxas' dreams only grew more desperate for the man, more physical, and he was growing more terrified of what his mind was doing. Finally, by the light of the waning moon, Roxas caught sight of the distinctive, tall figure striding purposefully down the street, turning down a a side alley. Hardly breathing, Roxas lifted his crossbow in preparation and ran after him as quietly as he could, turning to see an area penned in on three sides by buildings and a wall. Though initially looking up at the wall blocking his path, the vampire turned as he entered, a grin on his face.  
  
"Oh, dear, I’ve been cornered. You caught me, hunter.”  
  
Though he hadn't really imagined or planned their initial confrontation, Roxas couldn't help but be thrown off for a moment. "Don't act like you were actually trying to get away from me," he growled, holding his crossbow with white-knuckled hands, glaring down the sight.  
  
"Now, wherever did you get that idea?" Long, shockingly red hair drifting in a faint breeze, hands in the pockets of his pants, the vampire grinned as he shrugged, starting to slowly pace a slow arc around Roxas, towards the open entrance Roxas now blocked. "I assure you, I was doing my best to keep away from the frightful, mighty hunter on my tail."  
  
It took most of Roxas' self-discipline not to roll his eyes as he followed the vampire with the point of his crossbow. "Sure." He was going to have to be quick and careful, moreso than if he wanted to just kill the vampire.  
  
The vampire was silent for a couple seconds, pausing, eyes sweeping over Roxas' body, before meeting his eyes again. "So, are you going to kill me, or are we going to play a bit first? I'm really not in the mood to die right now, you know."  
  
Every second longer this went, the more the situation was threatening to throw Roxas off balance, between the vampire's playful, teasing manner and the only increasing longing for him and the anger that grew along with it. Instead of replying, he shifted his coat to make sure the vampire could see the vial of clear fluid commonly referred to as "holy water" hanging from his belt. Though he was not high enough in the ranks of the hunters to have learned the exact ingredients, he knew it contained the blood of something or someone whose existence he was not yet entitled to know. The vampire stiffened, taking half a step back, and his lip curled up over his teeth into a snarl at the sight, seemingly by pure reflex, letting Roxas know without words that he had experienced the effects–excruciating pain in many types of "unholy" physical beings, several of which also experience unique side effects including paralysis if ingested by vampires–at least once before. Which meant he had had at least one run-in with a hunter before. And survived.  
  
Continuing to support the crossbow in one hand, Roxas removed the vial, small and with thin glass intended to break on impact, providing a splash of the debilitating pain it provided, nearly always just enough to gain the upper hand over an adversary, with the other.  
  
The vampire froze in place, body tensed, fangs still revealed and shining in the faint light, eyes locked on the vial, as if it provided a worse fate than the potential death held in the loaded crossbow.  
  
Both of Roxas' arms began to ache with the need to act, and he took in a slow, deep breath, legs tensing in preparation for action, then squeezed the trigger. The flight of the bolt drew the vampire's gaze for long enough for Roxas to throw the vial and leap forward. In an instant, the vampire sidestepped the bolt only to have the vial shatter against his face, and a scream erupted from his throat and he doubled over just as Roxas brought up the crossbow to collide with the side of his face, gouging out a chunk of his cheek and jerking his head to the side. He released the crossbow and grabbed the more solid flask of holy water from his coat, opening it, in the same motion while he grabbed the vampire's hair with his other hand and threw his weight against him, knocking them both to the ground. Eyes blazing, skin blistering where the holy water had splashed him and giving him a truly sinister appearance for the first time, the vampire grabbed his shoulders in both hands and pulled him forward, mouth open, fangs glinting. Roxas didn't bother fighting the pull and simply brought the vial to the vampire's mouth, some of the contents spilling over his face, the rest pouring into his mouth. For a moment, the fluid gurgled with another scream, but the vampire couldn't stop the instinctual reflex the swallow the blood it contained, and his hands instantaneously stiffened against Roxas. There was a long moment of silence as his eyes mutely screamed agony, then his body fell limp but for a twitch at the corner of his mouth and his eyes following Roxas as he sat back up for a moment, panting, heart pounding. He paused for a second longer as the limp body issued a faint growl then pushed himself to his feet, watching the vampire watch him for a moment before going to collect his discarded crossbow and attaching it back to his belt. He paused another moment to collect his thoughts before crouching beside the vampire without looking at him.  
  
Tall as he was, the vampire was very thin under his large cloak, and Roxas had spent his entire life training, so it wasn't too difficult to wrestle his quarry's limp body over his shoulder and haul him through the pattering rain to his temporary lodgings, ignoring the faint, strained growls and snarls issuing from behind him. The weight was just beginning to get to him by the time he stopped to unlock the door, so he paused to catch his breath and adjust his grip on the vampire, but, as the lock opened, he realized where his hand was holding, and he froze for a moment as his cheeks were branded with heat, and he hurriedly moved his grip up to the vampire's back before going in. He could swear the low noise behind him sounded like muffled laughter, but he pretended not to hear. As soon as he could, he dropped the body into the lone chair that sat beside his temporary bed and walked away before his face could be seen.  
  
Taking a deep breath as quietly as he could, he slowly removed his more cumbersome garments, his hat and coat and jacket and boots, then he turned to face the vampire, who was managing to watch him despite his head hanging limp on his neck, before removing the guards from his forearms, shoulders, and neck, leaving him in only his soft buttoned shirt and pants. Though he ached slightly from the explosion of exertion followed by carrying the vampire back, he was satisfied to see he had no scratches on him. He was fairly sure he saw the other's eyes widen slightly, but he silently set to work tightly tying the vampire's limp limbs to the chair, restricting all movement possible. It wouldn't hold if his strength was back, but it would be fine while he was weakened.  
  
Still not speaking a word, Roxas went to the table laid out with all his supplies: weapons, potions, anything he might need. He took off one glove before picking up a numbing lotion–so easily misused–and spread it on his bare palm, grimacing a little from the cold prickling sensation until all feeling left. Fumbling a little, he removed the other glove before getting his freshly sharpened knife and going back to the vampire. He didn't look up as he carefully pressed the blade into the flesh at the base of his thumb only until a steady trickle of blood flowed then put the knife aside to lift the vampire's head, his luminous green eyes fixated on the wound that was held in front of his face.  
  
"Just a little now," Roxas finally spoke. "We're just going to talk."  
  
The reaction was nearly instantaneous as Roxas touched his thumb to the vampire's slack, blistered mouth; his eyes closed, his tongue reached out to catch the flow, and a faint groan came from his throat. It took a couple seconds more until the vampire's jaw tightened to close lightly around Roxas' thumb and less than a minute more until he could hold his head up, and Roxas pulled his hand away, letting his blood drip to the floor. "Can you speak?" he asked when green eyes met his again and he could see the skin burned by the holy water already starting to close, the gouge in his cheek starting to fill back in, though very slowly.  
  
A smirk pulled at the man's lips. "No. I think you should give me more," he purred hoarsely.  
  
Roxas snorted softly and smirked back. "Funny. We'll see what use I have for you later." He went back to the table and started wrapping a bandage over his hand. "In the meantime, would you mind sharing your name with me?"  
  
"Axel." His shoulders lifted and straightened slightly as he held his head up a little more. "Mind sharing your own?"  
  
Roxas turned and looked at him for a moment in silence, frowning, Axel's grin growing, then finished tying off the bandage with his teeth. "Roxas."  
  
"Surname?"  
  
"Chiavetta." Finished, Roxas looked the vampire over. "Yours?"  
  
Axel calmly shifted his weight back against the chair. "Honestly, I've forgotten. Been a lot of years. Are these ropes really necessary? I can't feel my hands."  
  
Roxas rolled his eyes at the vampire's unceasing smirk and stepped in front of him again. "You certainly seem to be enjoying yourself."  
  
Inhaling deeply, Axel licked his lips. "Been a while since I've been tied up by someone so cute. Especially someone who willingly gave me his own blood. I admit, the smell's rather distracting." Roxas' cheeks flushed with heat, and he quickly crossed his arms and frowned, but Axel continued. "Chiavetta, huh? Quite the pedigree. Why are you spending so much time chasing down a mongrel like me?"  
  
Roxas hardened his frown. "Questions." He raised his chin and channelled his mentors, glaring at the vampire as he paced back and forth in front of him. "You remember the first time we met?"  
  
Axel snickered as he followed him with his eyes. "I trust you mean the first time I let you see me, but yes. Must you pace? It's hard for me to even keep my head up."  
  
Flushing again, Roxas scowled as he stopped. "What do you mean 'let me see you'?"  
  
"When I get bored, I like playing with hunters such as yourself. Why do you think I randomly attacked so many people, especially after you arrived? Once I had your attention and had the opportunity to make a good show, I let you see me to see if I could keep your attention."  
  
"Show?" Roxas felt more heat crawling up his face as suspicions grew towards fact.  
  
"C'mon, you had to suspect. Even I don't look as good as I did by accident. There was luck, yes, but you saw me the way you did because I'd been waiting for the right moment."  
  
As his cheeks flamed, Roxas had to turn away to break eye contact. "Yes, I... I felt it seemed a little too staged to just be chance."  
  
"And yet you still followed me." Roxas turned back around, scowling, and Axel smirked for a second longer before his head slumped forward with a groan. "Ah, man, that holy water's really taking it out of me. It's been a long time since the last time I had the pleasure of sampling it."  
  
Defensiveness and embarrassment staining his cheeks red, Roxas stomped back over to him and pulled his head back up by his hair. "Why did you go through so much to get my attention?"  
  
Axel winced a little but continued grinning. "I told you, I like playing with hunters, and I've also mentioned how cute you are, so that's why I picked you. Much more pleasant to look at than the old, crusty, cold ones. You actually have some life in you still. Why did you follow me if you were suspicious?"  
  
Roxas was sure his embarrassment couldn't be deeper. Axel had swiftly thrown him off balance and ruined the best laid plans to remain calm and cool and get answers. For all his training to keep his head in any situation, he had never learned how to interrogate his quarry, especially not for a situation like this. His duty was to kill, nothing more. "That's what I want to know," he growled, pulling Axel's head back and leaning closer, eyes narrow. "Why won't you leave my mind? Why do I keep dreaming about you? What have you done to me?"  
  
Axel's smirk fell for a second, incredibly green eyes staring intently at him, then the smirk returned. "Get any closer and I might bite you," he warned with a purr.  
  
Roxas growled, feeling like his face was positively burning up. "Will you stop playing? I could kill you, you know."  
  
"I'm quite aware of that. That's why I'm enjoying myself while I can." With another growl, Roxas tightened his fist in his hair, making him wince and, unexpectedly, quietly groan. As Roxas stared with surprise, Axel smirked again. "Keep pulling my hair like that, and I might get turned on, you know."  
  
Shock jolted through Roxas' body but held him in place, wondering how he was supposed to react to that.  
  
"Unless you want that." Axel licked his lips and cocked an eyebrow. "If you're into that..."  
  
"Quiet!" Roxas snapped, releasing Axel's hair and letting his head fall over then crossing his arms over his chest.  
  
Axel chuckled quietly and weakly lifted his head again, eyes bright with amusement. "But if I'm quiet, I can't answer your questions."  
  
Roxas squeezed his arms tightly in his hands to try to hold himself still. He knew the vampire could hear his heart pounding and see his furious blush, and he hated himself for it. Being in his presence and having him as a captive had eased the painful longing, so now it was purely Axel's bearing affecting him, and that made it all the worse. "I'll ask you one more time: what did you do to me to make me unable to stop thinking about you, even when I’m asleep?"  
  
For longer than a second this time, Axel's expression grew straight and unreadable, staring silently into Roxas' eyes. "I've been wondering the same thing about what you've done to me." He smirked again and heaved a short shrug. "Except for the sleeping part."  
  
Roxas' frown deepened. "So, what, you're saying you haven't done anything to enchant me after admitting you wanted to get my attention?"  
  
"That's what I'm saying." Axel raised his eyebrow. "You can't tell me that, for all the years of your kind studying mine, you actually believe I could somehow enchant you."  
  
Scowling, Roxas looked at the floor and gripped his arms tighter. It was true, there was _no way_  Axel could have done something, but that made everything make even less sense. If Axel was experiencing the same symptoms, then what had happened on the night Roxas first saw him? Roxas squeezed his eyes shut. He knew Axel was telling the truth, nothing gave any weight to the possibility that he was lying and somehow had done something himself, but that left him further back than where he'd begun.  
  
"Look, I'm as confused as you are." Axel paused for a moment. "I wish I could tell you what happened, but I can't, okay?"  
  
Lifting his head but hesitating a moment before opening his eyes again, Roxas sighed heavily. If this was a dead end, then perhaps at least some curiosity could be sated. "Fine. Last question: just out of curiosity, if you've 'sampled' holy water before, you've obviously gone up against a hunter before, but you're still here, so what happened?"  
  
Axel raised an eyebrow slightly and shrugged coolly. "I had a bad night and got caught. He was a sick bastard who seemed to be getting off on torturing me." His head cocked to one side, but then he just shrugged again. "I managed to bear through it long enough I got the slimmest chance, then ripped his head off and bathed in his blood."  
  
Roxas looked at him mutely, surprised and yet too used to hearing about and witnessing unspeakable acts and gore to be shocked or disgusted. He was curious who the hunter had been, how long ago this had been, what–specifically–Axel had gone through and for how long. But the latter seemed a little too rude to ask, even considering their current circumstances, and he doubted he knew whoever the hunter was, even if it had been recent.  
  
Distant rolls of thunder began echoing in earnest, hinting at the incredible storms the area supposedly boasted.  
  
Axel smirked as the silence continued and cocked his head to the side. "So, if that was the last of your questions, do you still have use of me? Or are you going to do your job and kill me now?" His eyes burned under a lock of hair that had strayed into his face, and Roxas' heart leapt in time with a booming clap outside.  
  
"I guess that depends." Roxas started pacing again, though, this time, he was hardly aware of it. "What use can you offer to me that is worth your life?" He knew that, no matter what he did, that gaze, that smirk, that wild mane of hair and sharply angled face would follow him for the rest of his life.  
  
Licking his lip lightly, Axel arched an eyebrow. "I suppose that depends on what you consider of value. My money is little, and my possessions are few and valued mostly through sentiment, but my body is strong and my life is long."  
  
"I need only enough money to make it by and the possessions I require to survive." Biting his lip, Roxas stopped pacing and held Axel's chin to lift his face, staring down into his eyes. "But, perhaps, if the proper precautions are taken, I could make an exception."  
  
Axel's eyes narrowed slightly as his smirk grew somewhat. "I assure you, there are no precautions to protect you if you want what little I have to offer and I am not agreeable to the terms."  
  
"The terms _are_  my protection." Withdrawing his touch, Roxas unwrapped the barely bloodied bandage from his hand without breaking eye contact. "Maybe they are unknown to you, but there are certain rituals performed by people with magic that could bind two people together, as long as they are both beings of flesh and blood, as we both are." He held his hand just beyond Axel's reach. The wound was already scabbing over, but he was sure his meaning was clear. "It binds their lives together while protecting them from each other. Give me your body and life, and I will give you mine. You may feed from me, and I will make sure you stay under the radar of other hunters. You will assist any duty of mine with your strength and experience. You will protect me when I require it, and vice-versa." He cocked his head and blinked slowly. "You will be well-fed and no longer hunted, and I will benefit from a vampire's physical and mental abilities. I believe this should be mutually beneficial enough to satisfy you."  
  
Though his eyes had been drawn magnetically to Roxas' hand when it was unwrapped, Axel had quickly met Roxas' eyes again. For a full minute, he was silent, and Roxas imagined he could see the no doubt impressive machine of his mind processing and weighing the offer. "What of my freedom?"  
  
"I will not limit your free will beyond when I require your help and forbidding you from killing unnecessarily." With a soft snort, one side of Roxas' mouth pulled up. "You were the one who offered your being in exchange for your life."  
  
"I'm perfectly agreeable, I just wanted to ask. Even if you wanted all of my free will, I would have agreed. I really don't want to die, you know." Axel grinned again then bobbed his head in a nod. "My life, my body, and everything I have to offer is yours so long as you protect me from your fellows and don't turn on me."  
  
Roxas nodded as well. Immediately, he knew it was a potential mistake, but he moved his hand close to Axel's mouth once more. "I can't do the binding myself, but we will go to a friend of mine."  
  
With a soft moan, Axel immediately latched his mouth around the scabbed wound, drinking hungrily. The numbing cream seemed to be wearing off as Roxas could feel a dull prick of fangs breaking his skin, but it wasn't much. He would get used to it.  
  
He bit his lip again. Finally. This mystery and unexplainable obsession, his. He may not know what had so enchanted him with this vampire, but at least the intensity of his longing had eased and he could resume life.  
  
Another moan vibrating up his throat, Axel drew away as the wounds he had sustained completely closed over, licking his lips for a moment before looking at Roxas again. "Man, what I'd give to never be subjected to holy water again." He smirked at Roxas. "That's part of our agreement, alright? Don't _ever_  touch me with that stuff again, or I _will_  turn on you."  
  
Though his throat still clenched with worry at giving his captive strength back, Roxas smirked back. "Alright. So long as you keep up your end, I'll keep mine."  
  
Axel inhaled a deep breath. "As much as I hate to say it, I assume we want to get going as soon as possible to ensure our deal being kept with the help of your friend, but we both need enough of your blood to be able to travel, so I shouldn't drink too much."  
  
Roxas frowned a bit, having no intention of letting Axel drink that much yet in the first place, but nodded. "What do you propose?"  
  
Shoulders sagging, Axel sighed. "Well, I hate to say this as well, but I have more reason to trust you won't kill me than the other way around, I mean you haven't even tried yet and this whole evening's been nothing but the perfect opportunity." He gave a somewhat disappointed smile. "I don't expect you to trust that I won't kill you once I've regained the upper hand, so I guess I'm fine with being utterly useless until we get there."  
  
Roxas looked at him in silence for another moment then leaned in closer, staring into Axel's eyes. "I trust you," he murmured, though, truthfully, he couldn't. Not yet. He didn't care. The object that had so entranced him for so long was his. And he wanted every part of him, right down to entirely gaining his trust, which he knew he could only gain by offering his own.  
  
Axel looked at him a moment then raised his eyebrow and smirked again. "Keep acting all cute like that, and I'll want to kiss you. Combine it with that hair pulling earlier that nearly turned me on, and I don't know if you want to know what I'll want to do."  
  
Roxas flushed and grit his teeth for a moment as his eyes darted to the wall. He wanted _all_  of the man before him. Wanted to know and possess every inch. Had since the first time a dream had turned purely carnal, from fear and surprise to bodily lust. "I told you," he whispered, voice hoarse with embarrassment and a budding desire, "my body is yours as yours is mine. So long as I remain alive and whole, you may use it for what you wish."  
  
Axel's smirk grew slightly wider. "A dangerous allowance for a predator."  
  
"I'm giving you my flesh for both literal and figurative consumption. It's only fair to give a predator in exchange for his freedom."  
  
Licking his lips again, Axel arched up as little as his bonds would allow him. "Hm. I've lived a long time with few outlets for any desires for flesh outside of feeding. I'm not sure your fragile human body could handle a beast's long-contained sexual urges, and if it can, I wonder if it'd satisfy them."  
  
Roxas shrugged, trying to effect a cool calm. "No way to know but to try. But after." He suddenly wanted so badly to feel, to taste, but, no, it wasn't the time for that. He wanted some insurance for safety beyond ropes first. Looking away from Axel's eyes, Roxas leaned over to untie his hands then the rest of his upper body before offering his bloody hand again.  
  
Axel nodded and gripped Roxas' wrist in his cool hand. "Yeah, you can say you trust me all you want, but you know you can't until we've done that binding thing." He smirked a bit and raised an eyebrow slightly before licking the the holes from his fangs clean. "I do promise I'm not turning down your offer." Shrugging, he released Roxas and leaned over to untie his own legs. "Why would I turn down safety from hunters, all the food I need, and free access to the strong, healthy body of an attractive young man such as yourself?" His smirk grew, licking his lip and making Roxas flush as his heart raced furiously, until he gripped the chair and grimaced as he struggled to his feet. "Well, what do you need to do so we can go?" he muttered with a grunt as he swayed a bit.  
  
Roxas took a breath to calm himself then sighed and turned to the table and quickly bandaged his hand once more before collecting his weapons and putting them in their places in his suitcase. "Just need to pack a bit." He paused a moment to scratch his ear in thought. "We're going to have to take the train, so you're going to have to swear not to hurt anyone and to keep your nature hidden from others, or I'll kill you on the spot." He turned to catch Axel in a glare. "I won't let you out of my sight for a moment."  
  
Raising his hands innocently, Axel smirked. "Hey, I'm not going anywhere on my own." His hands fell heavily to his sides. "I just want to get there as soon as possible so I can have a proper meal and shake the damn holy water off."  
  
Unable to help it, Roxas chuckled. "Don't whine, I'll be as quick as I can." As soon as he had his kit packed, he got his outer clothes he'd discarded and put back on his boots, gloves, hat, jacket, and coat but put the guards back in his suitcase, closing it up and heading to the door. "Well, let's get going. I doubt anyone here is going to miss either of us."  
  
Axel snickered again as he followed him, staggering slightly as if he was drunk. "What? I thought that hunters were honoured guests wherever they went."  
  
Slipping the rented key under a rock beside the door and lowering the brim of his hat against the pattering rain, Roxas kept his attention on the man beside him as he mentally mapped the way to the train station. "Hardly. Common people are as afraid of us as they are of you. The difference is they're fairly sure we won't kill them and drain their blood."  
  
Axel laughed again. "Now, what thanks is that for protecting them from big, bad beasts such as myself?"  
  
Roxas just shrugged. He knew how dark and shadowy the organization of hunters seemed to the common citizen. To most, it seemed like only the most twisted kind of person could go up against the unholy forces of the world. And, from Roxas' experiences, that was often true. It occurred to him like it sometimes did to wonder what that meant about him, but he knew he did not have the outside perspective to judge himself.  
  
Axel let the silence continue for just a second longer before smiling again, as always looking like he was greatly enjoying something secret, not seeming at all affected by the downpour soaking him. "So, who's this 'friend' of yours we're going to see?"  
  
Roxas glanced at him, wondering how much Axel was going to talk on their journey and realizing he was going to has to get used to being around company again. "He could be called a 'water witch' of sorts."  
  
"Water witch? For this?" Axel's eyebrow raised.  
  
With a shrug, Roxas lead them to the platform and up to the ticket booth. "Most of the body is made of water, you know." He put the suitcase down and opened it enough to slip into the hidden pocket to pull out money. "Two to Atlantica."  
  
The familiar man behind the window looked at him a moment with a pale face, no doubt recognizing him from his arrival, if not definitely recognizing the crest on his shirt, then glanced back at Axel before nodding nervously and swiping away the money then getting their tickets. "Good timing, sirs, it should be arriving any minute." He gave a strained, too-wide smile with a forced laugh.  
  
Wondering what the man was thinking of a hunter suddenly travelling with a companion, Roxas took the tickets with a gracious nod. "Thank you." To put the man at ease, he lead Axel to a bench a fair distance from the ticket booth before sitting and handing Axel his ticket.  
  
Axel sighed heavily and slouched over as he sat, though he continued grinning once more. "Right. Blood especially. Makes sense."  
  
Roxas nodded, but didn't know what else to say, and another tense break in the conversation spread, Roxas painfully aware of the utter silence and absence of breathing from the body beside him even through the pattering of the rain and occasional clap of thunder. Yet it didn't make him as uncomfortable as he figured it should have. He still had the vampire at a disadvantage, and he was soon to remove all risk of him being a physical threat. Somewhere far in the distance, the whistle of a train could be heard through the rain, and Roxas closed his eyes for a moment and imagined how it must feel to lay alongside the body beside him, intimately entwined together. Excepting the times he didn't count or like to think about, he had no experience in such things, so he had no memories to base his imaginings on, which he decided was probably for the best so he wouldn't be surprised or unsettled by any differences the undead body would offer from a living human. His jaw clenched and thighs tensed as he restrained a shiver. Biting the inside of his cheek, he mentally scolded himself for the wayward thoughts sending hormones coursing through his body. It didn't matter how much he wanted it, he would wait until he had a guarantee of safety, and he didn't want Axel to be able to tell what he was thinking about because of any physical clues.  
  
The rattle of the train came around the corner and the shining serpent of iron and smoke emerged through the rain. Hand up to block the rain, the man from the ticket booth stepped outside with a lantern to meet it as it screeched to a stop, and Roxas rose to his feet again and walked alongside the slowing train after the door. The man again immediately looked uneasy and smiled. "Have a good trip, sirs."  
  
Roxas nodded and stepped onboard, removing his hat to shake off the rain then showing his ticket to the man waiting onboard who seemed more interested in his crest, stammering a greeting and bobbing his head. There were few people inside the car, several sleeping, one squinting at a newspaper in the dim light from the lanterns hanging along the ceiling, so there was no one to take notice of them as Roxas lead Axel to the back and indicated for him to sit by the window while he put his suitcase in the luggage rack then seated himself by the aisle, making himself a barrier between Axel and everyone else.  
  
Axel gave a rather pleasant sigh as he relaxed in the seat. "I can't even tell you how long it's been since I've been on a train. It'll be nice not to have to walk somewhere for once."  
  
Roxas just nodded, beginning to silently get annoyed at how he had no idea what to say.  
In no time, the train growled back to life and began pulling away from the station, and Roxas sighed and shifted to remove his wet coat and gloves in preparation for the ride.  
  
Axel looked at him a moment then copied him, taking off his drenched cloak then his gloves, and Roxas couldn't stop his eyes from widening in surprise at the sight. Seeming to expect the reaction, Axel held his left hand up to show Roxas. "A few of the parts I'm missing thanks to that former comrade of yours," he whispered with a smirk, voice nearly disappearing in the constant rattle of wheels.  
  
"Wow," Roxas muttered, unable to tear his eyes away from the missing last joint on the last two fingers. Though he knew vampires losing body parts happened–they weren't beings of magic, so they couldn't regenerate missing limbs out of thin air–Roxas had never seen it personally before.  
  
"He crushed most of my fingers in that lovely device you call a thumbscrew a couple times, but maybe he wanted to leave a permanent mark. I can quite definitively say the crushing was worse." Axel shrugged.  
  
Roxas gulped a bit and couldn't help his eyes sweeping over Axel, seeking some other, hidden marks of his ordeal, morbidly fascinated by what tortures a man could inflict on another, even a vampire, for pleasure. "What else did he do to you?"  
  
Chuckling, Axel looked down as he pushed up the sleeve of one arm then the other, tracing invisible lines on each with his fingers. "Well, he sliced my arms up the first night." He rubbed his arm absently as he looked ahead. "He sawed off my arms once then stitched them back on so they could heal. Tried out some classic tortures including thumbscrews, as I mentioned, and...man, I can't even remember. Think of any common torture method you know and he probably did it. Cut, burned, whipped, crushed, stretched... He would open my chest and gut and play around with my innards on many different occasions. Took out I think my kidneys and liver and some other stuff I don't need to get by anymore. I wasn't exactly paying attention to the details, so I don't know exactly what, but I'm much skinnier than a human body should be, so obviously plenty of things are missing in there. Other than that, though, my fingers are all I can actually show you."  
  
Mouth dry, Roxas wondered if he was more surprised by how sick the hunter must have been or by how casually Axel was relating all of this. No matter if it wasn't life-threatening, no matter how long ago it was or how it ended, Roxas didn't even want to imagine how intense the pain or the mental toll must have been. "So, one day he slipped up, and you killed him?"  
  
Axel nodded, exhaling softly then looking at Roxas sideways with a bit of a wicked smile. "Yeah. He'd given me just a little bit too much blood one day, and I ripped through the ropes and his neck like they were nothing. Even weakened as I was, it's amazing what unspeakable rage can do."  
  
Roxas nodded back and looked at his knees for a moment, wondering how long it would have taken for the hunter to kill Axel, or if he would have kept him prisoner indefinitely. If Axel hadn't escaped, Roxas figured they probably never would have set eyes on each other. A thought occurred to him that made him look up. "Where did he get the blood to feed you? He didn't feed you himself, did he?" He gulped again as a small spike of jealousy struck him, though it made him feel quite ridiculous.  
  
Laughing softly, Axel shook his head. "Not a chance. I never really got a good look at any of them, but it seemed like a vagrants and whores–people he was no doubt justifying murdering–he was bringing in and draining of blood. Not that he needed many seeing as he was only feeding me enough to keep me aware of what he was doing to me and strong enough to scream."  
  
Roxas nodded again. "The hunters can be quite expert at knowing exactly how the body works and how much it can take."  
  
"Oh?" Axel's smirk grew and his eyebrow raised. "Speaking from experience?"  
  
Roxas scowled. "I've never tortured or beaten anyone, if that's what you're asking, however, yes, I have experienced near-death during the course of my training."  
  
Smirk softening a bit, Axel's eyebrow arched up further. "How young were you the first time?"  
  
Guessing where this was going, Roxas clenched his jaw momentarily and glared defiantly up at Axel, brow furrowed. "I was seven."  
  
"Would they have ever let you die?"  
  
Roxas' body tensed further, teeth grit defensively. "As long as I stayed calm and rational enough to take care of myself, I was in no danger."  
  
Axel nodded slowly, staring at him so intensely it made Roxas gulp again, though his throat was tight and dry. "And I'm the monster, eh?"  
  
Brow furrowing, Roxas flushed and growled. "I understand perfectly how you personally may only kill to survive, but not all of your kind meets the bare minimum of humanity, and I must be not only strong but able to keep my head and do my utmost complete my job in absolutely any situation, even if I'm dying."  
  
Unflinching and unapologetic, Axel shrugged. "Only the worst of my kind would hurt children like that, and your kind does it systematically, that's all I'm saying.  
  
Growling again, Roxas looked back down. He knew Axel had a point, but that didn't change the fact that what was done had to be done. He wouldn't wish his experiences on anyone, but he knew they were necessary. It wasn't that he didn't know what to say this time, he had nothing to say, and he crossed his arms and scowled at the wood panels of the humming floor.  
  
Another minute of silence passed before Axel spoke up again. "I didn't mean to offend you, I was just making a point."  
  
"I'm not offended," Roxas grumbled, hardly hearing his own voice over the the rattling train and pounding rain.  
  
"Good. I don't want the guy who's going to essentially own me angry with me on our first day together."  
  
Roxas sighed and slowly unclenched his fists. "I'm not angry." He sighed again and leaned back in his seat, angling his head towards the ceiling and closing his eyes for a moment. "The world is cruel. I'm grateful I was forced to get used to it so young. It saved me much struggle as I grew up."  
  
Axel laughed. "You sound like an old man talking like that."  
  
Looking at Axel again, Roxas curled his nose a little. "You'd know, wouldn't you?"  
  
Laughing again, Axel just shrugged. "Hey, I'm not _that_  old. Compared to some other vampires, at least. I mean, some of them are literally ancient, I'm only..." He paused and frowned. "Uh... A couple hundred years or so."  
  
It was Roxas' turn to arch an eyebrow. "That's pretty old."  
  
With a chuckle, Axel scratched the back of his head. "Well, you know, young at heart."  
  
Roxas rolled his eyes again, amazed by this centuries-old vampire who just calmly described the brutal torture he once experienced and condemning hunters for their training rituals now acting in such a silly, almost childish manner. He wondered what he'd gotten himself into, but, all the same, he didn't care. He couldn't even say if this was strange to him more because of how long it'd been since he spent time with another person or because Axel was strange. But Axel was to be his, and all those days of dreaming and nights of longing would finally, hopefully, come to an end, so it didn't matter.  
  
"You're not tired or anything, are you?"  
  
Roxas raised an eyebrow as he looked back at Axel. "I hunt creatures who never sleep, so my body's been trained to get by on extremely little. I hope you're not planning anything."  
  
Laughing, Axel shook his head. "Come on, have a little faith in me. I've already told you I'm not going to turn down your offer. I'm just curious. I mean, you know how I work, and I know how humans are supposed to work, but you're a strange breed of human."  
  
Roxas frowned a bit, but couldn't really argue. "Right..." He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment before looking at his hands. "At a stretch, I can go three or four days without sleep, but, of course, I try to get at least a few hours per day, usually while travelling or during the day. I very rarely sleep more than four or five hours at a time."  
  
Axel chuckled. "Man, you hunters are big on strictly controlling your own bodies, aren't you? But at least it sounds like I won't wind up bored out of my mind waiting while you sleep every day."  
  
Smiling softly, Roxas shook his head. "Lucky you. But I'm sure we can find ways for you to safely occupy yourself while I deal with the demands of my mortal body."  
  
Axel laughed a bit louder, running a hand through his still-wet hair. "Gotta figure you hunters sometimes wish you were vampires yourselves, huh? I mean, no constant nagging of bodily needs, just a bit of occasional maintenance and a lot of time to do what you want."  
  
Roxas bit the inside of his cheek for a moment to stifle his own laughter. "I won't lie and say I've never thought of that or never heard others mention it."  
  
"So, you admit we're superior?"  
  
Roxas could only roll his eyes at Axel's broad smirk, clearly pleased with himself for whatever reason. "This isn't about superiority. Besides, for all the hunters your kind's killed, hunters have killed as many vampires, and we have a distinct physical disadvantage, so what does that say about how great your kind is?"  
  
"Ah, but your kind depends on many, many manmade tricks and weapons specifically designed to take us out while we require only our own bodies."  
  
"Yes, but your bodies have already been supernaturally enhanced to be able to specifically overpower humans. You are a weapon yourself. We have adapted for survival through our own wits."  
  
"Mostly depending on the wits that came before you."  
  
"Rather than relying on crude, animalistic instinct in battle, yes. We build upon the knowledge of those before us."  
  
"And we build upon knowledge stemming from our own experiences with no chance of misinterpretation or deteriorating recordings as we only have to rely on our own unfading memories."  
  
"And yet our inferior methods of passing down information serve us well enough to keep pace with you."  
  
"And yet, somehow, you cannot win against us once and for all."  
  
Roxas suddenly realized he was looking up at Axel with a big, stupid grin, so he quickly bit his lip to try to calm himself. "I sure beat you quite easily."  
  
Raising an eyebrow, Axel inclined his head closer. "Want to know a secret?" he whispered. As his teeth bared in a grin that made Roxas' heart leap briefly, he leaned down to Roxas' ear, so close he could feel his breath as he spoke. "I wanted to get caught." Uncontrollably, Roxas clenched his hands into fists and held his breath, jaw tense, to try to reign in the sudden rush of heat filling his body from their proximity and the low purr of Axel's voice, but Axel just calmly leaned back in his seat, apparently unaffected himself. "Though the holy water did make me forget that for a minute. Animal instinct and all. But I would have put up a much better fight if I hadn't been possessed by thoughts of you for so long."  
  
Roxas gulped, willing his body to cool as he took a quick breath. "So, what, you didn't care what I did to you so long as we got to meet properly?"  
  
Axel shrugged coolly. "I admit it, I didn't know that killing me wasn't part of your plan or that you even had a plan. I just..." He paused a moment then shrugged again, expression growing blank, staring straight ahead. "I just wanted to be with you for even a moment. If someone was going to kill me, I wanted it to be you."  
  
Hands clenched tightly together, Roxas felt himself smiling. Finally, even in such a subtle way, it seemed like Axel was as affected as him. Once again, though he wanted to respond, he was at a loss for words, but, this time, he didn't care if Axel could hear how his heart was racing or could smell the chemical changes that were making his body hot yet cold at the same time. "Well, lucky you," he finally managed to whisper.  
  
Axel's eyes turned to meet his, and everything froze for an exhilarating moment, his face still unsettlingly serious. "That's scary for me, you know. Never, not once in over a hundred years, have I been driven by anything other than pure self-preservation. I chose this life to make myself strong enough I would not die. Yet something about you can take this most integral part of me away. That's terrifying."  
  
Roxas could hardly breathe, yet didn't want their eye contact to cease for even a moment. "The last thing I want now that I have you is for you to die. Even if I don't know what happened to us to make this happen, I can't lose you."  
  
"I'd do whatever I needed, make any deal with the devil, to cheat death again so I could stay with you."  
  
Looking silently into Axel's eyes, Roxas thought about it, about becoming a vampire, the ultimate betrayal, the ultimate damnation, so he could stay by this man's side for all eternity. The mere implication made him shudder and clench his fists so his nails dug into his palms, terrified of what his heart and mind were capable of. He tried to speak, but his voice escaped him, making him cough softly, breaking eye contact for a moment. When their eyes met again, he gulped and drew in a short breath. "What happened to us?" he whispered, more deeply afraid of what was going on than when he had been alone with only his own disturbing thoughts.  
  
Axel's eyes closed and he shook his head, a hint of a smile curling at his mouth. "I wish I knew." He slowly licked his lip then bit it lightly, eyes travelling down Roxas' face then, suddenly, he held the back of Roxas' head in his hand and leaned in.  
  
Jolting with surprise, eyes flying wide, Roxas froze in place for a second, heart in his throat, the lips against his icy cold and wet with rain and yet relieving something he hadn't known needed to be satisfied. A second later, he realized what was happening, and he sharply jerked away, pushing Axel back into his seat. "What do you think you're doing?" he hissed furiously, pushing himself to the far edge of his seat, clenching the wooden arm in one hand until his fingers hurt.  
  
Axel frowned a bit, as if offended, but sunk back into his seat. "I was kissing you," he mumbled, crossing his arms and sullenly looking at his lap.  
  
Roxas thought he might have laughed at the sight if he wasn't so overwhelmed. "Just out of no where, out here in public?" He struggled to keep his voice from raising.  
  
"No one's even awake." Pouting, Axel looked at him without turning his head. "Sorry."  
  
Forcing himself to sit in the middle of his seat again, Roxas sighed and closed his eyes a moment, swallowing past the lump in his throat. "Just don't do that without warning again unless you want to give me a heart attack." After a moment, he stood and, fumbling, reached up into his suitcase to get a towel, throwing it at Axel. "Dry yourself off; you're freezing cold."  
  
Axel looked at him silently for a second before rubbing his head with the towel. "Sorry. Not something I'm in the habit of noticing."  
  
"Yeah, I figured." As quietly as he could, Roxas pulled in a long, deep breath, held it for a couple seconds, then let it gust out of him, taking the tension in his body with it. He wished he knew what to do in this situation, but he was fairly sure this had never happened before, especially not between a hunter and a vampire, so he had no history to base this on. He considered that, perhaps, one day, he'd be a lesson in a book for his successors. Whether his appearance would be as a revolutionary or a cautionary tale, though, he had no idea. His fate in relation to future generations helped him none where he was.  
  
"Look, I..." Roxas glanced over as Axel shook his head. "Again, I'm sorry, I guess, but will it be okay if we're in private and I make sure I'm warmer next time?"  
  
Roxas huffed and rolled his eyes, keeping himself from snapping in irritation. "It's not just that, it's the principal of the whole thing. I'm really confused right now, and you suddenly touching me doesn't at all help me sort this out."  
  
"I'm confused, too, but that doesn't make me want to be close to you any less."  
  
"Yeah, well, we're different people." Crossing his arms tight against himself, Roxas shifted uncomfortably. "Just because my mind's screaming at my body to have you, doesn't mean I'm going to follow through with it before my safety's a little more guaranteed. Not that I'm saying you're going to kill me, but, again, it's the principal."  
  
"Knew you didn't really trust me." Roxas looked up sharply, but he heard no anger of any kind, and Axel winked and smiled softly before relaxing into his seat fully, eyes closing.  
  
Roxas rolled his eyes again, but relaxed as well. "And it's impossible to think with you touching or kissing me, and I would like to figure out what's happening to us."  
  
Axel raised his eyebrow. "Have you figured anything out in the time I haven't been touching you?"  
  
Groaning, Roxas covered his face in his hand. "No, but that's not the point." He ran his hand up into his hair for a moment before sighing with exasperation. "Are you always going to be like this?"  
  
Axel sighed as well, inclining his head back to look at the ceiling. "I'm sorry! I just..." Biting his lip, he looked back down, meeting Roxas' eyes for a moment then going down to his hand, his own hand tensing and shifting closer. Scowling, Roxas tightened his hand into a fist and pulled it into his lap protectively. Axel sighed again and looked back up.  
  
"You just want me," Roxas grumbled. "I get it, but that's no excuse for being so forceful."  
  
Sinking deeply into his seat, shoulders hunching and ducking his head, Axel frowned and looked at his lap. "Sorry," he mumbled quietly, but lifted his eyes back to Roxas' face only a second later, guiltily looking away when Roxas frowned.  
  
Closing his eyes, Roxas took several slow, deep breaths to calm the rapid flow of his blood, rubbing his hands together softly. A part of him increasingly didn't want to figure out what was happening, just accept that it was and give himself over to Axel on the spot, but that made him all the more frightened and determined to figure it out. For all he'd been through, he had never experienced his own mind willing him into complicity with anything like this.  
  
Finally, the silence was comforting, if not comfortable. Axel seemed to be sulking now, like a chastised child, but at least he wasn't forcing Roxas to continue thinking about how he, a hunter, was completely helpless against his prey. He wasn't even in the mood to think about or question their situation anymore; he just wanted to get to Atlantica and get this over with so, perhaps, he could get an ease to his longing without having to be physical. At the same time, perhaps he could soothe his physical longing, a sweet release from the need to think and give up control to his most basic urges for at least a short while. He pushed down the thought before his body could react, though the constant vibrations of the train added a layer of difficulty to that. He hoped Axel wouldn't be even more frustratingly forceful if Roxas was physically reacting and stopped him.  
  
"Can I at least help you with that?" Roxas sharply looked up, and Axel glumly gestured towards his bandaged hand, eyes trained on it.  
  
Roxas looked down at it for a second, frowning a bit. His instinct was to resist, it was barely more than a scratch, he absolutely did not want to invite even an insignificant amount of vampire blood into his body. All the same, he wanted to forgive Axel, to offer an expression of trust. Sighing, he clenched his hand into a fist. "It's fine."  
  
"Fine." Looking back up, he caught Axel smiling wryly before quickly turning away to the rain-streaked window.  
  
Leaning on the armrest closest to the aisle again, Roxas sighed and stared out a window on the opposite side of the train, watching the slow ease of the rain, the gradual lightening of the sky. The blur of trees, distant mountains, the grass becoming taller, thinner, harsher. He thought of their first meeting yet again, the girl, the moon, this vampire, but now his mind subconsciously overlaid their second meeting with only one of those things, as if trying to find some common thread beyond simple chronological succession, beyond a vampire deliberately putting himself in danger to get Roxas' attention.  
  
A whistle shattered the dull white noise, jolting Roxas out of his thoughts. He took the towel from Axel without a word and stood to put it back in his suitcase and put his outer clothes back on as the train rumbled and clattered and slowly came to a stop. Once it had come to a complete halt, Roxas shot a look at Axel to ensure he got up and followed then headed back down the rows, some people starting to wake but still paying the pair no mind, and left the train, immediately struck by a cold, salty wind, the rain left behind them and replaced by a cool, early-morning mist over the city of Atlantica.  
  
Axel lifted his face and sniffed at the air as he put his cloak back on and put his hands in the pockets. "I take it we're near the ocean." He smiled a bit, almost tentatively. "Suitable place for a water witch."  
  
Roxas just nodded and hefted his suitcase as he headed off the platform and away from the station, reaching back through his mental maps to find his way through the blue-grey fog. At the edge of his vision, Axel seemed to be back to silently sulking, but he ignored the other and focused on the stony streets, slowly waking with early risers. When he spotted a familiar sign among the colourful clapboard buildings, he nodded to himself, relief and anticipation invading his limbs and making them tense, and headed to the dark storefront.  
  
Following, Axel looked up and squinted at the sign. "Demyx? Interesting name."  
  
"Whatever you say, Axel." Rolling his eyes, Roxas paused and looked back up at him, meeting his eyes once more. "Are you ready? Last chance to back out."  
  
With a slight frown, Axel shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere without you," he murmured, voice dropping in a way that made Roxas restrain a shiver.  
  
Turning away as he felt his face flush with heat, Roxas took a breath of the sharply scented air and headed around to the side door he knew was there, listening to Axel's footsteps behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this sitting around for literal years. I haven't posted anything anywhere in so long. Someone please encourage me to finish this so I can make it exist and stop thinking about it. [lays down in a puddle of tears]


	2. Bound

Crouching, Roxas lifted the woven mat in front of the side door and got the key from underneath, almost rolling his eyes to see that it was still there.  
  
"I take it you visit him often," Axel commented with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"No." Roxas stood back up and pushed the key into the lock. "He's just lazy and predictable." The door easy opened on silent hinges, and Roxas lead Axel into the quiet living space behind the store. Putting his suitcase down by the door, Roxas went to the closed door he knew lead to Demyx's bedroom and knocked on it firmly, a seed of impatience growing from his anticipation. A couple seconds later, there was a low mumbling noise on the other side, so he knocked again, louder, resulting in a sudden yelp and a noisy scrambling.  
  
Hair half covering his face and sticking out oddly on one side, Demyx opened the door with wild eyes. "Who-" Cutting off when he caught sight of Roxas, he took in the hunter's face, then his crest, then back for a second before his hand fell from the doorknob and he frowned as he yawned. "Roxas? What on earth are you doing here?" He pouted. "Do you have any idea how early it is?"  
  
"No, and neither do you." Biting back a chuckle as Demyx's pout deepened, Roxas kept his expression serious. "We need some help from you."  
  
"'We'?"  
  
Roxas looked back to see Axel looking around, distracted by something Roxas couldn't see for the shadows, and Roxas frowned a bit. "Axel," he snapped, raising his voice a little, both an introduction and a summon.  
  
Jumping a bit, Axel glanced back then quickly came over. "Sorry."  
  
Demyx raised an eyebrow for a moment, looking at Axel's chest for a crest, squinting at his face when he saw none. After a short silence, he jumped back, eyes wide, suddenly wide awake. "Whoa! He-" Pointing at Axel in silence, he gaped at Roxas. "What in _hell_ is going on? He's a...?"  
  
Roxas could feel his face beginning to heat up, so he hastily pushed Demyx's hand down. "Yes, he's a vampire. Calm down."  
  
"'Calm'? What is this? What's he doing here?" Demyx took another uneasy step back into his room as if he had some hidden escape inside  
  
Axel sighed and rolled his eyes dramatically and turned away, making Roxas shoot him a quick glare before stepping into the door so Demyx couldn't close it on them. He wasn't sure he would make a run for it, but he didn't want to take any chances; this needed to be done. "Look, there's too much to explain, but we need you to bind us."  
  
The startled panic slowly leaving his face, Demyx's eyes narrowed, no doubt trying to process the request. Roxas hoped that telling him there was too much to explain would keep him from asking questions. After a silent minute. Demyx shook his head. "Okay, what? You can't be serious. I mean, there's a reason I don't do that to begin with, and now you want to do it with a..." He trailed off and gestured to Axel meaningfully.  
  
"A vampire," Axel finished for him.  
  
Roxas shot him another glare, further annoyed to see a bit of a smug smile on Axel’s lips, before sighing and gritting his teeth for a moment, uncomfortably shifting his weight between his feet, then lowered his voice. "I know, it's not conventional, but can you do it?"  
  
"Well, yeah, of course." Demyx crossed his arms with a prideful sort of smile before he looked at Axel again and sighed, rubbing his forehead. "But... Ah, man, okay, whatever, I'll do it since it's you, but, seriously, why? What's going on? Why do you want to do this?" He waved his hand dismissively in Axel's direction. "And I don't mean because he's a vampire, I mean, that's a big deal, but you know what a big deal this is without that, right? People have gone to crazy lengths to get out of this before when being physically and mentally attached to their significant other became too much after a while." He edged past Roxas through the door and around Axel, drawing a quivering globe of water out of the pump over a sink and into his mouth with a gesture of his hand, sighing after he gulped it down. He then turned with a chuckle. "I mean, I don't think..." Awkward smile plastered on his face, he looked from Axel to Roxas then groaned and rubbed his face again. "I mean, I'm not making any assumptions, but this is insane. Why on earth do you want this?"  
  
Immediately, Roxas felt his face warming up again and reflexively shot a look to Axel, mouth opening slightly but no sound coming out. He knew what was safe to say, but even that was somehow too embarrassing for him to admit.  
  
Axel’s eyebrow quirked up as a hint of a smirk played across his lips. "We've come to a...mutually beneficial agreement," he explained, looking up to Demyx. "He gets a vampire's strength working for him, I get protection from hunters. If we're bound with whatever this is, then we don't have to worry about being betrayed."  
  
Demyx raised an eyebrow as he continued looking between them. "Okay, but how'd you even get there? How did you two talk that out without killing each other first?"  
  
Sighing heavily, Roxas grit his teeth and shook his head. "Look, can you please stop asking questions and just trust that I know what I'm doing?"  
  
"I trust you, I trust you," Demyx insisted, raising his hands, "but you come in here at some ungodly hour in the morning to make some crazy request; you've gotta respect why I need a minute to take it in." He shook his head and leaned back against the edge of the sink. "Again, I don't do this for anyone, and now I'm supposed to do it to a hunter and a vampire?" He shook his head harder. "Crazy."  
  
Roxas squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head as well, thinking somewhat wryly how Demyx didn't know half of what was making the situation utterly unbelievable. "Yes, I know. You think I haven't realized that?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess." Resting a hand against the edge of the sink, Demyx sighed heavily and pushed his hair away from his face, slowly making it stand up slightly. "Alright, alright, I'll do it. Just give me a minute to get ready." He yawned as he headed back towards his room. "And wake up. Couldn't have waited 'till later, could you?"  
  
Roxas couldn't stop himself from smiling a bit with relief while he shook his head. "We were in a bit of a rush. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can move on."  
  
"Yeah, okay." Demyx yawned once more then heard towards the door leading to the storefront. "I'll be right back with everything."  
  
Watching the space Demyx left, Roxas focused on continuing to breathe evenly, hands becoming cold as he clasped them together.  
  
Axel sighed softly behind him, then his hand laid lightly against Roxas' shoulder. "You seem nervous. Having second thoughts?" he asked in a murmur, and Roxas couldn't quite decide if his tone was teasing.  
  
Closing his eyes for a moment, Roxas shook his head. "I started having second thoughts the moment I thought of this, but I'm not going to back out. Not if it's the only way we can safely be together." The only alternative was to spend enough time together to form real, solid trust, and that was utterly unfeasible. This risky shortcut was the only way he could trust that he wouldn't be in danger.  
  
When Axel stayed silent, Roxas looked back only to look into his unnervingly intent, unwavering stare, making him immediately look away, willing away a blush. Just as he mentally noted yet another awkward silence, Axel's cloak rustled, and his lips softly pressed against the narrow strip of Roxas' throat exposed by his coat's collar. Even as he saw himself instantly shove Axel away in his mind, Roxas was frozen with surprise for a handful of seconds before he could regain his bearings enough to whirl away. "What in hell was that for?" he hissed, clasping his hand over his neck.  
  
With a sigh, Axel scowled glumly and looked away, crossing his arms, but didn't say anything, so Roxas sighed as well and pulled his coat up over his throat a little more, face burning, heart pounding, as Demyx came back out with a basket balanced in his arms.  
  
"Alright, let's get this over with," Demyx muttered, looking at what he was doing as he put everything down on his kitchen table so Roxas wasn't quite sure who he was talking to. "Come sit down. This'll take just a minute. It’s stupid how quick and easy it is.”  
  
Giving Axel one last glance, Roxas silently complied and pulled out one of the chairs in front of the table for himself, Axel taking the one next to him.  
  
Once his basket was empty, Demyx looked up at them and waved a hand at them. "Go on and get a bit closer. We're going to need physical contact."  
  
Seemingly needing no further prodding, Axel immediately pushed his chair closer until there was near no space between the two of them, and Roxas shifted a bit, either uncomfortable or embarrassed, he wasn't quite sure himself.  
  
"Alright," Demyx sighed as he sat down and looked between them with a certain wariness. "Let's get the basics down. I'm sure you know about the effect that you won't be able to do anything to each other that the other doesn't want, so you won't be able to hurt or kill each other." He hesitated and frowned a moment. "Well, not intentionally. Like, if you're holding something sharp and accidentally trip into the other, you can't exactly help that, but you won't be able to beat each other up or anything if you're angry or whatever. Unless he gets stuck in a trap and asks you to chew his arm off." Demyx chuckled without enthusiasm as he shifted a bottle on the table then sighed and looked up. "And, beyond that, you're always going to be able to find each other, no matter where you are, and, if you're apart, you're going to, you know, want to be back together." He tapped his head with a fingertip. "It's like a compass in your head that always points to each other that gets stronger the longer you're apart."  
  
Roxas could almost laugh at that. How bad could that possibly be compared to what they had already gone through?  
  
"And you're going to be able to sort of feel each other's emotions and strong physical sensations. Not reading each other's mind or anything, just sort of being able to tell." He faltered and laughed awkwardly. "Not...saying anything about you two, but I've heard sex is pretty intense."  
  
While Demyx turned pink and continued laughing, Roxas tightly clenched his jaw as he felt his own face burn, making him even more embarrassed. He almost wanted to curse at Axel, sitting as calm and cool as ever, irritated that, of all things, he was jealous that Axel couldn’t blush.  
  
As he stopped laughing, Demyx got out a knife then suddenly became rather pale. "Uh... I-I.... I'm going to need some blood." He stared up at Axel. "Are you going to be able to...handle that?"  
  
Axel smirked a bit, raising an eyebrow. "I can handle it."  
  
Unable to help it, Roxas cast a look up at Axel, realizing what a test this'd be. No doubt still feeling some effects of the holy water and having had only a little blood before they left, Axel had to be hungry. Roxas was curious how much control he had to be so assured.  
  
"Alright, I trust you, I guess." Demyx shot Roxas a meaningful, slightly frightened, look before sliding the knife across the table, handle towards them. "We don't need a lot, just a little dribble. And you'd might as well use your palm because you'll need it there later," he said and pushed over a small ornate bowl with something dark and powdery in the bottom.  
  
While Demyx closed his eyes and muttered something to himself, again seeming to contain the word "crazy", Axel took the knife, and he and Roxas stared into each other's eyes for a moment, fear and doubt welling up anew. "I guess you should go first," Axel whispered, and Roxas nodded, taking the blade. Even if he was strong and healthy and very little of Axel's blood would be exchanged by the blade, he hated the thought of even the slightest amount of vampire blood being allowed into his body. He took the bandage off his hand, the wound from earlier slim and scabbed over, and sliced into it again with a small flinch. Holding his hand over the bowl to let a trickle of blood drip down into the bowl, he handed Axel the blade.  
  
Axel stared intently at Roxas' hand, nostrils silently flared, but tore his gaze away and looked down at his own hand and sliced into his own palm then squeezed his fist as he held it over the bowl. Watching as Axel's blood very sluggishly welled up and started to drip into the bowl next to his, again attesting to how much he must have needed to feed, Roxas sighed softly and pulled his own hand back when Demyx gestured for him to, pressing the bandages against it to stem the flow.  
  
Demyx frowned a bit watching how slowly Axel's blood ran. "Seriously, when was the last time you fed?" he asked in an impatient mutter.  
  
Axel chuckled a bit and looked at Roxas, eyebrow raised. "Several hours ago, but it wasn't much. It's the holy water."  
  
"Oh." Understanding relaxing his features, Demyx looked at Roxas as well for a moment then sighed. "Alright, whatever, that should be enough." As Axel drew back his own hand and rested it on the table, Roxas hoped Demyx's curiosity had been sated some. Demyx got another bowl filled with water and slowly poured it over the blood-soaked powder, circling his hand over it so it swirled and gradually mixed together into a dark grey fluid with a silvery sheen. "Now, don't worry, this will probably stop any cross-contamination of vampire germs," he muttered, placing the second bowl down and continuing to stir the first as he picked up a bottle and poured in a few drops of whatever it contained.  
  
Roxas realized what was going to happen and winced a bit. Even with the weak assurance, the thought of allowing vampire blood into his veins....  
  
"Alright, hands out. Close together." Roxas gulped a bit as he held out his hand that still bled slowly, and Axel did the same, staring at Roxas.  
  
Demyx took a deep breath and closed his eyes lightly as he started muttering inaudibly again and gestured with his hand to lift the fluid out of the bowl in a swirling sphere that hung in place for a moment before gliding towards their hands. Roxas watched as his hand was slowly engulfed in the cool water and his blood flowed into it, combining with Axel's as it diluted into the shimmering mass. Then their blood stopped flowing at the same time as Roxas felt something against the wound, a faint pressure that then moved into the severed blood vessels, flowing into his body, slightly cooler than was comfortable just like Axel's body, and something seemed to pull their hands together like magnets until they touched. Thinking about Axel's blood, even if it had been sterilized, getting into his body made Roxas tense up in spite of himself, and he had to close his eyes to stop himself from pulling away. But he was going to get through this. He was going to be able to let his guard down without Axel being able to hurt him.

Wincing, he looked again as his fingers twitched from the sudden pain, as if his palm was cut a second time, deeper and longer than what he'd done to himself. Axel's hand had twitched the same moment as his, which drew his attention to the cut in Axel's palm, deeper and longer than Roxas'. Roxas inhaled sharply and tried to stop himself from completely clenching up.  
  
The water fell back into the bowl, sloshing over the edge and onto the table, and Demyx let out a heavy sigh. "Alright, that's it. Have fun with your new bond."  
  
Axel's eyes were bright as Roxas pulled his hand back again, wiping the lingering chill off on his pants. "That's it?" Axel asked, and Roxas felt himself blushing again at how transparently excited he was.  
  
"That's it," Demyx repeated, and a hint of a smile pulled his mouth as he looked at Roxas. "If you don't mind, I'd like to go back to sleep. You gave me a rude wake-up call, and I need a break from you already."  
  
Softly biting the inside of his cheek, Roxas chuckled as he stood. "Sorry."  
  
With a yawn, Demyx waved his hand. "Nah, don't worry about it. Just come for an actual visit next time you decide to come to Atlantica. We can have lunch or something and talk about something other than how crazy you are."  
  
"I guess I owe you that much." Roxas looked over at Axel as the vampire stood up then picked up Roxas' suitcase for him. "Thank you again, Demyx."  
  
"I know, the world owes me for helping you help the world eradicate the vampires." Demyx yawned again as he stood and walked back to his bedroom. "Lock the door and put the key back, please."  
  
"I will. Thank you again."  
  
With another wave, Demyx shot a last smile before closing the door, a noisy, muffled groan issuing from behind it a moment later.  
  
Chuckling to himself, Roxas got the key as they left, locking the door and putting it back under the mat. As they headed away, Roxas looked at the suitcase Axel still held. "I can carry that..."  
  
"So can I. It's no problem." Axel stared down at him for a long second. "So, now what's the plan?"  
  
Roxas sighed and looked ahead as a new anticipation knotted in his stomach, not responding for a moment as he weaved through a patch of crowd. "Well, I'm guessing you'd like to be fed, and I've fallen behind on my sleep while chasing you, so I think we should find a room for the day before moving on and getting to work."  
  
"Sounds good. You don't seem tired, though."  
  
Looking around for an inn among the disparate wooden buildings, Roxas shrugged. "Not particularly. I just know I need to sleep soon or I will be."  
  
Axel chuckled, smiling down at him. "Really on top of your body, huh?"  
  
Shrugging again, Roxas found a sign he was looking for and headed into the building, the front room quiet with soft conversations.  
  
"Good morning. Do you have a room free for the day? We're just passing through and won't stay long," Roxas asked, keeping his voice low so he wouldn't disrupt the quiet, as he approached the bar and the woman wiping down its surface.  
  
She looked up with a smile, putting down the cloth and turning to a series of small keys hung up in a row. "Yes, we do. Would you prefer a room with a bed for each of you?" She caught sight of his crest when she looked back and jumped a little, eyes widening a bit with surprise, just staring.  
  
"No, we don't need that." Roxas got out some money and placed it on the bar. She remained frozen for a moment before shaking herself and hastily grabbing a key and dropping it into his hand. "Thank you."  
  
"Uh, i-it's no problem sirs... Just go up the stairs, you have room three." Roxas nodded and gave Axel a quick glance before going where she indicated. "E-enjoy your stay!" she called after them, leaning over the bar to continue to watch them until they reached the top of the stairs and turned a corner.  
  
Axel looked back as Roxas stopped at the third door and unlocked it. "You know, I'm going to enjoy watching how people react to you."  
  
"Hm. Glad you're having fun." As soon as he stepped inside and waited for Axel before closing the door, Roxas' throat went tight and dry, just standing and staring at the wall. This was it. Despite his whole life's training and work, he was about to give himself over to a vampire.  
  
Axel seemed to notice the sudden shift and placed the suitcase down as he stood at Roxas’ side facing him. "So, how do you want to do this?" he asked, voice lowering.  
  
Feeling his face steadily heat while his hands went cold, Roxas occupied himself taking off his coat then jacket as he shrugged. "I-I suppose we'd might as well sit."  
  
Roxas could see as Axel drew in deep breaths as he stepped around him to get to his suitcase, and he noticed the aching hunger hanging at the edge of his awareness that wasn't his own. His hands were shaking slightly as he absently folded his coat and placed it on top of his suitcase while avoiding Axel's eyes. He wasn't afraid, not in a way he was at all familiar with, but still his stomach felt clenched in knots. Without speaking, Axel unfastened his cloak then sat on the bed that sat against the wall, eyes locked on Roxas. As Roxas took a steadying breath before approaching, Axel took off his gloves then offered a hand. "W-where do you want me to bite you?" he whispered, voice shaking a bit, and Roxas could feel how hard it was to just speak and sit still.  
  
Tentatively, Roxas stopped in front of him. "Wherever you want. I need to get used to how it feels if I'm going to keep up my end of the deal." He wanted so badly to stay calm, but if he could feel how desperate Axel was, he knew Axel could feel how nervous he was. He hoped that the hunger was distracting enough that Axel couldn’t notice.  
  
"Can I hold you?"  
  
Roxas gulped and he finally broke eye contact as he nodded as he lowered himself onto the bed at Axel's side but didn’t protest when Axel pulled him into his lap, embracing him securely with one arm while the other hand trailed over his throat and tipped back his chin. Gulping and closing his eyes, Roxas placed his hands on Axel's shoulders, gripping him softly to try to feel more grounded, like he wasn't about to pass out from his wildly racing heart.  
  
"I'll be gentle," Axel murmured and inclined his face towards Roxas' throat, continuing to inhale deeply. "Thank you..." he murmured then pressed his lips against the point of Roxas' pulse.  
  
"W-wait," Roxas muttered suddenly, pushing lightly at Axel's chest.  
  
With a soft, distressed whimper, Axel drew away, looking at Roxas pleadingly. "What is it?" he whispered.  
  
Though he burned to his core with embarrassment, Roxas pushed Axel's hand away to unbutton his shirt and pull it off. "I don't want it getting stained," he muttered, unable to meet Axel's eyes as he tossed his shirt towards his discarded jacket.  
  
A smile immediately flitted across Axel's face as he looked down Roxas' chest, placing a hand against his back again. "I'm not a messy eater," he murmured, voice lighter.  
  
"Yeah, well, you haven't proven it," Roxas muttered, sure his heart couldn't possibly be pounding any harder.  
  
"Haven't had a chance," Axel murmured as he leaned back in, inhaling softly against Roxas' throat again then licking over the tendon with a soft, hungry moan.  
  
Roxas' eyes squeezed shut and his jaw clenched when there was a sharp pain, and Axel moaned softly again just below his ear. Both of Axel's arms wrapped tightly around his waist, vice-like, and Roxas' breathing grew short, though his ribs were not compressed and his heart raced. Finally, _finally_ he was pressed close and held tight by Axel. _Finally_ , that need was sated, and he felt like he could relax, yet he couldn't with a vampire feeding from his neck. But, though the pinpricks at his neck stung, the feeling of the hard, muscular body separated from him by so little fabric and the hands against his bare skin felt _good_. Axel was an attractive man, even without the mysterious mystical attraction, and, ignoring the very slight discomfort from his feeding, he felt _good_.  
  
Roxas felt half-insane, caught between training and enchantment and unfamiliar bodily urges. Never, not once, had he actually, actively _wanted_  another person like this. And it was with this vampire. He shook slightly as he let his head fall forward against Axel's shoulders, brow furrowed, not sure whether this heat was from Axel's body as it warmed from the meal or from himself. He had experienced passing attraction, lust, arousal, self-pleasure, but this...  
  
Axel pulled away and inhaled deeply. "Roxas? Are you alright?" His hands, intentionally or not, slipped down into the small of Roxas' back, making him shudder again.  
  
"Y-yeah, I... I am..." he breathed. He was getting _so_  hot; Axel _had_  to feel it.  
  
"You don't seem alright." Roxas gasped again as Axel's tongue dragged up his neck, over the wounds, up to his jaw, then he felt a smile curl against his skin. "You seem like something's bothering you."  
  
Panting heavily, Roxas grasped his shoulders tighter. "Wh-what do you want me to say?"  
  
Axel gave a soft hum then pulled away, staying silent until Roxas lifted his head to look at him again. "Can I kiss you now?"  
  
Biting his lip, Roxas stared into Axel's eyes, getting lost in his own mind for a moment, then nodded. He had no idea how to resist any longer. Before he could even prepare himself, Axel pressed a hand to the back of his head and pulled him forward so their parted lips pressed tight together. Axel wasted no time in angling his head to deepen the kiss, hungrily moving against Roxas, holding him even tighter. Roxas could taste the faintest hint of metallic blood, but the scent and taste of everything else Axel was overwhelmed that. He didn't even care about any unpleasantness in the taste, it just meant that Axel would have his strength back.  
  
Roxas moaned and pushed at Axel's chest when his lungs started to burn, and Axel immediately complied, breaking the kiss to let him gasp but immediately turning his attention back to Roxas' throat with sucks and kisses. Strong hands gripping his hips, Roxas felt himself lifted and turned so he could straddle Axel's lap. He frowned as he panted, wondering how close they were each getting to some invisible barrier. He squeezed at Axel's shoulders and realized an immediate problem, an imbalance. "T-take your shirt off," he ordered under his breath, hands slipping down to the buttons.  
  
Axel's lips never lifted far from Roxas' skin as he helped unbutton his shirt a little bit faster then stripped it off, allowing Roxas' hands to press to his bared chest. Unsurprisingly, his body seemed almost entirely stripped of fat with energy stores serving him no use now—though Roxas figured he had to have been very thin even when he was alive as well—leaving behind hard muscle encompassed in unflawed brown skin, barely covering hard points of bone. Roxas' brow furrowed with a soft groan as he began to get truly uncomfortable in his pants.  
  
"Ow!" Reflexively, Roxas grabbed Axel's face to shove it away, looking down to see blood trickling down his collarbone. "What was that for?" he growled softly, though something about the sting that made him shiver.  
  
Axel frowned a bit and looked away guiltily. "Sorry. I couldn't help it."  
  
Lip curling up a bit, Roxas put his hands on Axel's shoulders and gave him a shove so the vampire was on his back underneath him. "I was under the impression you had pretty impressive control." He growled again, eyes narrowing. "Don't make me tell you again to ask about these things."  
  
A smirk lifted one side of Axel's mouth. "You only told me to ask before kissing you." As Roxas growled again, Axel lifted his head to lick up the trail of blood, and Roxas hated how that immediately made his body shake. "Then I guess you want me to ask where you're intending this to end up. I do belong to you."  
  
Even if the technicalities said the bond was mutual, Roxas appreciated being told he was the one in control. Except that he didn't know how to answer the question. Hesitating, he looked down into Axel's eyes, swept down to his chest then unnaturally concave belly, still heavily defined with musculature. In comparison, Roxas almost felt stronger, thicker, more solid. Muscular or not, being so stripped of fat and allegedly missing some internal organs, Axel was so thin he looked like he could be snapped in half, yet the knowledge of why that was kept anything from diminishing his attractiveness.  
  
Roxas regretted interrupting; it had been so much easier when he hadn't needed to think. "I'm not sure," he finally admitted. He fully understood the concept of consensual sex, as foreign as it was. But did he want that? Yes. Yet, immediately after: No. No way.  
  
He realized he still had Axel's shoulders pinned onto the mattress, if not actually providing any barrier to his movement, and he was still seated with his legs either side of Axel's bony hips. His groin ached and throbbed, and he wanted to feel the rest of Axel's body against him to soothe his burning skin, yet could he really? "It depends," he muttered as the silence grew uncomfortable.  
  
"On what?"  
  
Roxas just silently shook his head, not about to admit twice in a row that he was lost, clueless.  
  
Axel's hands finally moved again, running up Roxas' stomach and making it tighten with pleasure. "I can feel it. How much you want it." His eyes shut as he continued to move his hands over Roxas. "I won't be as uncomfortable as you if I don't orgasm after getting so worked up," he murmured. "I can help you finish, however you want it."  
  
Jaw clenching, Roxas scowled. "You're making this sound too easy."  
  
Flashing a smirk, Axel shrugged. "It is easy." His hand started to trail back down Roxas' stomach, making his eyes flutter shut with a gasp. "You tell me what you want, and I pleasure you until you're satisfied."  
  
Suddenly, having all the control wasn't such a good feeling. Sighing, Roxas shook his head. "Stop talking like this is easy for me."  
  
“Let me kiss you again,” Axel murmured, a devilish smirk on his face as he lifted a hand back to Roxas’ cheek.  
  
Roxas sighed again as he closed his eyes. “Fine.”  
  
The first kiss was short, soft. “I won’t do anything to you without your express consent,” Axel murmured then chuckled. “I guess, technically, I can’t. But I wouldn’t anyway.” Roxas kept his eyes closed as he was kissed again, longer. He silently scolded himself to relax so he could think properly, but he was so light-headed, heart pounding so hard.  
  
He pushed Axel away, panting, brow furrowed as he stared down at his own lap. Axel softly rubbed his back and kissed the top of his head, prompting a sigh. “Alright, that’s enough,” he muttered.  
  
Axel stilled for a moment, silent, before pulling away and leaning back on his arms. “Damn.”  
  
Scowling, Roxas looked up to see Axel looking at him with a faint smirk and a raised eyebrow. His mind radiated disappointment. “Don’t ‘damn’ me. You’re lucky I let you feed from me.”  
  
The smirk became a grin. “Come on, I know you wanted it. Don’t kid yourself.”  
  
Flushing all over again, Roxas hastily got to his feet and turned away. “That’s none of your concern. I told you to stop.”  
  
“I did. And I think it is kind of my concern.”  
  
Roxas took a deep breath, willing his blood to cool, feeling peculiarly chilled. He imagined he could feel Axel’s eyes boring into the back of his head. “Can’t you just leave it? Clearly, this isn’t phasing you in the least, but I just gave my blood to a creature I’m supposed to kill. Let me have some time to get used to this.”  
  
“I know this is about more than just the blood. Don’t act all coy on me now.”  
  
Hands tightening into fists, heart pounding for entirely different reasons now, Roxas silently crossed the room to pick up his suitcase and carry it to the solitary table and desk on the opposite side of the room, avoiding looking towards the bed. Axel sighed, and the bed creaked. Roxas could feel a mixture of disappointment and irritation that made his jaw clench enough he could feel the pulse in his throat. Feel the blood pushing at the barely-scabbed bite on his throat. His hands shook a little as he opened the suitcase and, without needing to look, retrieved his weapons and laid them across the table, followed by a cloth, then picked up each item one at a time to clean them properly; he hadn’t since capturing Axel. He had to shift slightly in the chair from time to time; sitting was increasingly uncomfortable.  
  
“You’re not mad at me,” Axel said, somewhere between a statement and a question, something he could feel but needed to confirm.  
  
Roxas sighed and closed his eyes, needing to hold his jaw tight for a minute to calm himself. “I’m not mad,” he agreed. “This is just a lot all at once.”  
  
“I guess you relax about weird occurrences when you live too long.”  
  
“Lucky you.” Finishing, Roxas sighed and looked at the weapons on the table for a moment before putting them away. Taking a deep breath, he turned back to the bed where Axel laid looking at him. “I need to sleep.”  
  
Axel looked at him for a moment then smirked and slid back on the bed to open some space.  
  
Sighing, Roxas walked over to the bed and looked down with arms crossed. “I suppose you’re not getting up.”  
  
Axel grinned, leaning his cheek in his hand. “Do you want me to?”  
  
Blushing, Roxas looked away for a moment and shrugged. “It’s fine.” He gulped down a feeling of guilt, irritated by Axel’s transparent glee, then sat at the edge of the bed, pulling up the leg of his pants to remove his prosthetic leg and prop it against the side of the bed before laying down on his side, facing away from Axel and closing his eyes, tired now, but still his heart pounded.  
  
He both felt and heard Axel moving behind him. “Can I hold you?”  
  
Feeling his cheeks become warm again, Roxas sighed without opening his eyes. "If you have to."  
  
Chuckling, Axel slid close to press against his back, wrapping his arms around his waist and nuzzling against the back of his head. Roxas sighed softly, wondering why Axel was so clingy, but, at the same time, he didn’t want to protest or do anything to make Axel let him go.  
  
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to..."  
  
Roxas bit back a sigh.  
  
Axel softly kissed a spot behind his ear, nearly making him shudder. "But what happened to your leg?"  
  
For a minute, Roxas stayed silent, half hoping Axel would think he was asleep already, but he knew that Axel could tell that he was still awake and sighed. "Are you going to let me sleep or not?"  
  
Axel shrugged. "Sorry. You don't have to talk about it."  
  
Sighing again and just barely shaking his head, Roxas turned in Axel's embrace to face him with a frown. "It's fine." He took a deep breath to suppress a yawn, wondering why Axel couldn’t wait to pester him with questions "If you're thinking it had anything to do with my training, it didn't. They wouldn't harm me like that on purpose after investing so much into training me."  
  
Axel shrugged again, but Roxas had no doubt that that was what he'd been thinking.  
  
"It was an accident." Roxas yawned through his frown. "On my first solo mission, I did something stupid and got knocked off a roof. The fall broke both legs, but I managed to kill the vampire when it came down after me. I’m lucky I survived, really. The right leg was a fairly clean break and was able to be set and mended fine eventually, but the left had been damaged badly enough it got infected and had to be amputated. Honestly, I only barely remember anything that happened to me between being rushed to a doctor and when I woke up a month later missing half of my leg. The time they spent trying to save it was the worst pain of my life." Talking about it made his leg feel slightly itchy, but he ignored the urge.  
  
Humming, Axel nodded. "Is the prosthetic uncomfortable?"  
  
Roxas shook his head. "Of course not, I couldn't work if it was, but I do get sores and blisters sometimes, if I have it on for too long.”  
  
Nodding again, Axel softly trailed his fingers over Roxas' face, making him blush and bite his lip. "We're both cripples, huh?" he purred.  
  
Frowning and raising his eyebrow, Roxas pressed his fist into Axel's gut. "Call me that again, and I'll cut you throat open and make sure you can never say anything like that again."  
  
With a laugh, Axel nuzzled his throat again, holding him tighter. "I'm just joking."  
  
"I'll do it anyway." Roxas yawned again. "Are you going to let me sleep or not?" he grumbled, tiredness beginning to truly weigh on his body and eyes more with each breath, each blink.  
  
Axel chuckled more softly and lightly rubbed Roxas' back, pulling away from this throat. "Yeah, sorry. Go ahead and sleep. I'll be here waiting for you to wake up."  
  
"Good," Roxas murmured, tucking down his chin so his forehead rested lightly against Axel's chest. "Don't leave the room. If there's an emergency, wake me up."  
  
"Don't worry," Axel assured in a whisper. "Just sleep."  
  
Roxas grunted quietly and nodded and soon tumbled into a soft, drifting sleep, Axel's hand moving softly over his back.  
  
He was aware of pressure, not unpleasant, encompassing him, and a grey warmth. Fog. He couldn't tell whether or not his eyes were open. He was groping his way through the gloom to find something, but he didn't know what. Or who? Yes, who. Someone in all this grey. Someone lost, someone precious. The pressure around him seemed to be holding him back, but, at the same time, it was so comfortable, he didn't want to make it leave. It felt like two hooks were buried deep inside his chest and pulled in opposite directions. He wanted to ask who was there, who was holding him, who he was looking for, but his throat seemed to be dry and empty, nothing to make any sound with. Moaning softly as he opened his mouth, unable get any words to come out, he blindly cast his hands around in front of him while pressing back into whoever held him, wondering why he couldn't just have both.  
  
He instinctively stiffened as he woke, and green eyes fluttered open in front of him, then gave a crooked smile. "Hey. That didn't take long. Sleep well?"  
  
Taking a measured deep breath to stifle the urge to yawn, Roxas pushed away from Axel to stretch his stiff limbs, slowly blinking. "I suppose." He frowned up at the ceiling for a moment.  
  
Someone was lost...  
  
Shaking his head of the dreamlike lingering feeling, he rubbed his eyes and rolled away from Axel to sit up. "We should move on. We have work to do." He looked down at Axel, sprawled half-naked on the bed, and raised an eyebrow. “I've spent too much time on you as it is, so you'd better not disappoint me." He took a deep breath before pulling himself up to stand, keeping a hand on the bedpost for balance as he stretched again then hopped once to get to his suitcase before sinking to his knees to open it.  
  
Axel sighed and leaned his chin in his hand as he watched. "Are you seriously going to go all business on me so quickly? You didn't even sleep that long."  
  
"Long enough," Roxas said as he got out clean clothes and reached out to the bed to pull himself back onto it. "Don't whine. Didn't you get enough of what you wanted?"  
  
"I'm never going to get enough of you."  
  
Though he immediately started blushing, Roxas chose to ignore the remark as he changed. "It's your turn to hold up your end."  
  
"Hey, come on, that's not fair. You wanted all of that kissing just as much as I did." Axel smirked slyly as he leaned in closer. "Don't act like you weren't completely obvious with how much you wanted me."  
  
Face steadily turning redder, Roxas scowled furiously. "Even so, I have a job to do, and that’s more important than whatever...carnal urges either of us have." He pulled up the leg of his clean pair of pants to secure his prosthetic leg once more. "You agreed to help me, so don't make a fuss about having to do it. We've barely been together twenty-four hours, and you're well on the way to being insufferable."  
  
"You weren't saying that when I was kissing you," Axel purred, and Roxas growled. Yet he wasn't exactly surprised. All the worse for Axel, Roxas supposed, if he expected Roxas to just give in to their shared lust and forget about everything else. They had a deal, and Roxas wasn't a slave to his own body.  
  
As he finished with his shirt, Roxas stood and looked firmly back at Axel. "Get dressed," he ordered, and Axel sighed but got up to pick up his clothes and comply.  
  
Satisfied, Roxas had to look for his crest for a moment, supposing it had fallen off his shirt during his hasty disrobing, then picked it up off the floor and closed his eyes as he pressed the cool metal lightly against his forehead. He'd put off an assigned mission in favour of chasing Axel, so he would have to do damage control as quickly as possible. His eyes reflexively fluttered under the barrage of information temporarily stored in the enchanted metal.  
  
Taking a moment to absorb the information, he pinned the crest back to his shirt then got his jacket, noticing Axel was watching him. "Our crests aren't just for show. They are connected to a telepathic network to send us messages and missions from our command post, and we can send back simple acknowledgements and report on the state of missions and such," he explained before Axel could ask.  
  
Axel nodded as he pulled his shirt on. "I wondered how you were so coordinated. I knew something had to be going on."  
  
Cleaning up the shirt he had tossed off, Roxas nodded. "Seeing as I've been busy, the mission I received in the middle of hunting you has been on hold for a while, so I'd like to wrap it up quickly."  
  
As he closed his suitcase and stood, Axel was suddenly behind him, arms around his waist, softly kissing the back of his neck. "I guess it was too much to hope to spend just a day with you with no responsibilities."  
  
Roxas gasped and shivered. "Y-yes, it was. I don't know why you thought we wouldn't have to work." Axel kissed up his neck slowly, and when he reached the spot behind his ear again, Roxas couldn't stop a soft moan from slipping out, surprising himself.  
  
"Just one day? Please?" Axel murmured before kissing there again, harder.  
  
Roxas closed his eyes as his breath caught, and he wanted to just melt into Axel's embrace and feel that more. "No!" With a growl, he shoved Axel off. "If I knew you'd be like this, I would have saved myself the trouble and killed you."  
  
Eyebrow arching, Axel smirked. "No, you wouldn't have."  
  
Face red, Roxas just huffed and crossed his arms. "Are you ready to go or not?"  
  
Axel gave a heavy sigh and shrugged as he swept his cape over his shoulders and clasped it at his throat. "I suppose." He winked. "Are you going to lighten up or not?"  
  
Roxas just frowned silently in response before picking up his suitcase again and picking up the room key where it had been left on a small table. "Don't lag behind," he snapped as he left, locking the door as soon as Axel came out as well. He ignored the disappointed pout on Axel's face as he headed back down the stairs and gave the woman who was now serving some people in the front room a meal a polite nod and waited by the bar until she came back, her body obviously tense as she smiled.  
  
"Uh, h-hello, sirs. Did you sleep well?"  
  
"Yes, thank you for your hospitality." As he handed her the key, Roxas deeply inhaled the scent of the food wafting from an open door behind the bar and hesitated a moment, remembering he hadn't eaten in almost a day. Axel was dangerously distracting. "Do you have any food we can carry with us?"  
  
She smiled tersely and nodded, already half turning away. "S-sure, I'll see what we have."  
  
As she went back into the kitchen, he heard the titter of hushed voices and he pretended not to see another face peek out the door a moment before disappearing back into the room. A minute later, she came back out with a roll of bread with some kind of fillings wrapped in butcher paper. Roxas smiled politely as they exchanged the food for some money, and he turned back to the front door.  
  
When they stepped out into the afternoon sun, Roxas realized that it, for some reason, hadn't occurred to him to ask Axel whether he could handle sunlight, so he covertly looked back at Axel for his reaction, but Axel flinched no more than anyone would walking from a dim interior to a bright afternoon, though Roxas also flinched in surprise from the sudden pain he felt that didn’t come from his own body, growing and particularly sharp at the eyes. He remembered Demyx’s warning about feeling each other’s pain and realized this was something he’d have to get used to and quickly fixed his gaze forward, ignoring it.  
  
He had to admit to himself that he was impressed. He had seen several times how vampires react to the sun without investing many painful months in forcing their supernatural body to adjust back to what had once been normal, and Axel had clearly committed himself to this, either to be able to pass as human or simply to not be inhibited during the day. He was a little curious, wanting to know even a little more about this man's motivations, but knew he should wait until they were somewhere more private.  
  
As he walked back to the train station, he unwrapped the sandwich enough to look at it and realized that she had given him two, assuming he meant that both of them needed food. At least the food would last him all day, but he'd wait until they got on the train to eat.  
  
Looking at the posted schedule on the side of the building and the clock next to it, he frowned with thought as he figured out the quickest and most efficient way to get where they were headed before buying the two tickets. Axel seemed to be back to sulking from Roxas' cold treatment, so Roxas decided to ignore him as he stepped into the shade beside the building to ease the heat beating down on him and put down his suitcase as he took out what remained of his money to count it out. Scaring Axel out of the one town had been profitable, but buying extra train tickets could put a strain on his travelling budget.  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Axel continuing to pout and stand just beyond the shade for a moment, keeping distance between the two of them, starting to wince now and Roxas could feel the burn of the sun growing, before giving a soft grunt and quickly stepping out of the sun with a grimace. "Ow," he grumbled, covering his eyes with his black-gloved hand.  
  
Biting his cheek to stop himself from smiling, Roxas decided he was glad to be in a sunny costal town after how Axel had been behaving. A fitting, if unintentional, punishment. Though it being unintentional and unrelated, it probably wouldn't modify Axel's behaviour any. Eventually he'd find a way to make them get along and work as a proper team, but he had more important things to worry himself with for now.  
  
After only a minute of silence, though, Roxas noticed Axel's hand fall and the vampire resumed silently staring at him. Roxas tried to ignore both him and the slightly embarrassed pinch in his chest, but his face still flushed, and he could see a faint curl on one side of Axel's lips. It took nearly all of his self-discipline not to turn away and give Axel the satisfaction.  
  
"So, what are we going to do?"  
  
Glancing over for a moment, Roxas noticed Axel grinning smugly now and nearly rolled his eyes. "We're going to take the train for a few hours then we have to find some other transportation to get to the town where there's a suspected vampire who's allegedly taken a couple hostages."  
  
"A vampire taking hostages?" Axel crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Prisoners to supply a human lifetime of blood, or is there something personal going on?"  
  
Roxas sighed. "I'm not given that much information. Why does it matter, anyway? Either way, my job is to kill them to make sure they won't hurt anyone else again."  
  
Smirking, Axel shrugged. "I'm curious; sue me. I just thought that if we're going to be fixing problems, we should know more."  
  
Brow furrowing a bit, Roxas stared at Axel for a moment, beginning to get a little worried. "We solve problems by killing the pests. You're not thinking about trying to protect this vampire or find a way to 'fix the problem' while keeping it alive, are you? I kept you alive to help me do my job which is exterminating vampires. You knew that."  
  
With a laugh, Axel lifted a hand to wave off the accusation. "Come on, don't try to put words in my mouth. I don't have any attachment to any random member of my kind, so I'm not going to try to shelter any of them. I'm just wondering whether the town or the victims did something to put a target on their backs. Many humans have brought violence upon themselves before."  
  
Unable to resist rolling his eyes for a moment longer, Roxas paused only long enough to make sure Axel saw him do it before picking up his suitcase and heading to the edge of the platform as the whistle of the train approached, hoping getting Axel back in the sun would get him to stop talking. "You sound like you're defending your kind."  
  
"Not this particular one, but in general." Axel flinched and squinted as he followed. "Humans would make life much easier for themselves if they were more careful."  
  
Roxas sighed and decided to go back to ignoring him as he waited to board the train. Just because he had a point didn't mean the point warranted comment. He wasn't here to make humans better as a species, he was here to exterminate vampires and that was all. If Axel secretly did harbour moral issues with killing his own kind, he needed to either get used to it or die himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to thank everyone who's left comments and kudos so much! It's been incredible getting such positive feedback after such a long time spent sitting on this story. Just, like, sobbing all over my phone every time I see a new one. Thank you all!  
> I'd love to reply to comments, but I'm really awkward about replying to compliments, so, please understand, if you've commented, I deeply appreciate it, I just don't know how to thank everyone!


	3. Hindrance

The sun was already beginning to set when they stepped off the train, Roxas trying to discreetly stretch his arms and shake off the long hours of travel. He didn't know how long it would take to get to the town that was under attack, but he wasn't looking forward to having to sit for any longer. At the very least, it meant he would be well rested and eager to do whatever it was the job ahead would call for, but he wasn't going to enjoy it.  
  
"So, where to now?" Axel asked, looking around, nostrils flared, and Roxas was jealous that he wasn't stiff and sore from the long stretch of inactivity.  
  
Roxas sighed and rubbed the back of his neck as it popped. "East. I'm not sure how long it'll take to get to the other town, though."  
  
Axel looked down at him with a raised eyebrow. "What, we've got to sit around for even longer? I'm beginning to get pretty anxious to do something. You know, get ready for whatever's waiting for us."  
  
Rolling his shoulders once more, Roxas rolled his eyes and walked into town. "I'm sorry, but I'm not walking there."  
  
Hands in his pockets, Axel trotted to his side then grinned. "Come on, I can run as fast as any horse and for longer, and I'm not as expensive."  
  
"Yeah, but I have to sacrifice my body to feed you," Roxas grumbled, refraining from rolling his eyes again.  
  
Axel smirked. "Hey, you agreed to it. Come on, I can carry you, and we'll get there in no time."  
  
Roxas stopped for a moment, narrowing his eyes slightly. Was this another attempt just to get them close together again, or was Axel really so adverse to having to sit still again? It would save the money needed to get them a ride, but it also sounded pretty silly and possibly similarly uncomfortable for Roxas himself.  
  
Heaving a sigh, Roxas rubbed his forehead. "Fine... We'll walk for a little while so I can stretch my legs, then you can carry me the rest of the way. If you really want to so badly."  
  
A grin crossed Axel's face as Roxas noticed a sense of relief from him. "Believe me, even if I'm not sore like you, that doesn't make it any easier to sit and wait for hours." He winked. "I've gotta pay the price for being kept alive, right?"  
  
Unable to stop himself from sighing again, Roxas just aimed himself east and resumed walking through town. It was tempting to point out that he couldn't kill Axel even if he wanted to now, but he was fairly sure it wasn't worth the effort. Tired as he was from so much traveling, talking to Axel was... His brow furrowed a moment as he sought out the right word.  
  
Draining.  
  
"What are you making faces for?"  
  
Roxas winced slightly. Axel was irritatingly nosy as well. "Just thinking about what's waiting for us. We're going to need a plan if we're not going to butt heads and utterly fail."  
  
"I can follow orders when I need to." Axel grinned crookedly and shrugged. "I can't guarantee I can kill whoever's waiting for us on my own, but I can definitely defend you long enough for you to shoot them."  
  
"Well, we’ll see." Roxas sped up a little, hoping to silently prompt Axel to stop talking.  
  
It had been so long since he had last been on a mission with someone else, he was used to having the time before to quietly think. He wondered briefly how many years it had really been; his last years at the academy had became such a blur, he couldn't remember what order things had happened to him. Had his last mission with a mentor been with that man?  
  
He squeezed his eyes shut a moment and shook his head. It didn’t matter. This mission was what mattered. The present was the only thing that mattered.  
  
Cautiously, he cast Axel a glance, but he didn't seem focused on him anymore, watching the sparse crowds of the late evening instead.  
  
Roxas quietly sucked in a deep breath. He'd have to see what kind of terrain they would have to work with, considering it didn't sound like their quarry spent much time stalking around the town, unlike Axel. All of that time, heart fluttering in fear and something unknown as he watched the shadows of buildings for his quarry. He could hardly believe it was over and that it had only been a day.  
  
Gritting his teeth, Roxas cringed inwardly. He almost regretted having Axel along; something about his presence or perhaps just the shared spell seemed to be making it hard to focus.  
  
He took another deep breath. Axel or no, he had done this innumerable times before, and he wouldn't let anything end that. Not a damn thing.  
  
His hands tightened at his side as he spotted the edge of the city and aimed towards it.  
  
Nothing.  
  
He focused on his breathing, his steps, and the feeling of his fingernails pressing into his palm until they were out on the road heading east then let out a slow breath.  
  
The captured humans would have to be somewhere enclosed to protect them from the elements if the vampire was keeping them alive. Possibly an abandoned building outside of town or an area with thick trees or rocky faces. Axel could make a good decoy or distraction in the case of the vampire being backed into a small space. He also intended to use this in part as a test to see just what Axel was capable of.  
  
When he could breathe normally again, he stopped and turned to Axel with a stern look. "Alright, we're far enough away. You'd better not try anything while you're carrying me." While Axel smirked, Roxas put down his suitcase. "Keep off the main road if you even suspect someone is coming, understand? I don't want to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves."  
  
"Don't worry, I'll take care of you." With a grin, Axel turned away from him and crouched. "Hold on."  
  
Scowling a little as he felt his face flush with heat, Roxas stepped close and leaned against Axel's back, cringing to think that Axel could likely feel that his heart was pounding, and wrapped his arms around his neck. He felt like he only blushed more at the feeling of Axel's hands against his thighs, lifting him off the ground before standing, hooking Roxas' legs with his arms to let him pick up the suitcase before resuming along the road with long strides.  
  
Roxas didn't have to see Axel's face to know he was all but laughing.  
  
"If we're going to do this, hurry up," Roxas grumbled under his breath, leaning his cheek against the cushion of Axel's thick hair.  
  
Axel finally did laugh. "Whatever you want. I love to run." With a soft hum, Axel sprang ahead a couple jumping steps before settling into a swift, smooth lope.  
  
Roxas closed his eyes and tried not to breathe in Axel's scent too deeply. He wished his heart would stop pounding, that his skin would stop burning with heat. In barely twenty-four hours, his body was disobeying and betraying him more than it had his entire life. He could feel his hands on the verge of shaking, so he gripped his own forearms tighter but tried to keep his arms otherwise relaxed around Axel's neck to stop giving him physical clues to his nervousness. Even if Axel could probably feel it mentally.  
  
Roxas sighed to himself. Perhaps telling Axel the plan would help calm him, but he didn't trust his voice with the way the rest of his body was reacting, so he tried to use the gentle, steady impacts of Axel's strides to lull his thoughts.  
  
He could no longer feel any amusement from Axel now, just anticipation and perhaps a kind of joy. Axel was so accepting of the situation, so willing to go along with what Roxas needed to do. Was immortality really so boring? Or was it from the inexplicable enchantment of their first meeting? Perhaps in combination with their new bond? It was frustrating to not understand this man's motivations, but Roxas didn't want to focus on it just yet. After they were done what they needed to do.  
  
Axel's back felt like a solid wall of muscle underneath their layers of clothing, but, at his waist, Roxas could feel the sudden dip below his ribs, the sharp relief of his bones over his missing organs. Even if it didn't affect him physically outside of his now impossibly thin physique, there had to be more scars than Axel had let on when relating his torture. How had his past impacted who he was now?  
  
Roxas absently rubbed his fingers against his sleeves. Even if witnessing Axel's fighting style and abilities would be useful, he wouldn't feel completely assured in any of this until he had a better grasp on and control of Axel himself. Even if it had only been a day, it was frustrating to know so little and be so helpless. Logically, he knew it was ridiculous to expect after such a short time, but the feeling lingered.  
  
Clenching his jaw for a moment, Roxas took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. This was time he should be spending planning. Or thinking about what he should bring to the fight. Or anything useful. Trying to force himself to relax, he leaned his cheek to Axel’s head again.  
  
Axel's hair smelled nice. Not of anything in particular, not sweat or anything environmental, but there was a warmth in the scent that Axel's physical body lacked, like the smell of a spice, not alive in its own right, but having a certain heat when inhaled.  
  
Axel's chest expanded. "I think we're getting close. What's the plan when we get there?"  
  
Inhaling deeply himself, Roxas lifted his face away from Axel's hair, blushing guiltily. "The mayor should be expecting us. They will give me whatever information they have, and we'll go from there."  
  
"They won't be asleep? It's getting late."  
  
"It's fairly common knowledge that hunters work primarily at night, so those that hire us generally are prepared to stay up for us. Besides, if a predator was stalking the streets at night, would you sleep much?"  
  
The corner of Axel's mouth curled. "I don't sleep at all."  
  
Roxas rolled his eyes. "You won't be coming with me to get information. There's not really any way to explain why you're with me for the fight if you're not a hunter." Roxas was grateful for that because it meant Axel wouldn't be nearby distracting him or saying things he shouldn't.  
  
Axel sighed. "Alright. Better be quick, though."  
  
"I don't want to waste time any more than you do." Roxas lifted his head a bit. "Though things may change when I hear more about the situation, for now I'd like you to mostly act as a distraction and defence. I want to see how well you can handle yourself before I give you too much to do."  
  
As he felt the sting to Axel's pride, Axel turned his face so Roxas saw his frown. "I've been fighting my own kind longer than you've been alive, you know."  
  
Roxas frowned back. "That doesn't matter. This is my job, and I don't want to risk you causing any unnecessary harm by making you do too much before finding out what you can handle."  
  
Looking ahead again, Axel huffed. "Rather insulting, you know. I can more than handle myself in a fight.”  
  
"I just told you, this is my job. I can't risk anything going wrong, and I can't just trust what you're saying."  
  
"Come on, I did the binding, can't you trust me?"  
  
Roxas almost laughed. "I slept right next to you, isn't that enough trust for you for now?"  
  
Arms tensing around Roxas' thighs, Axel huffed again, radiating a hint of frustration. "That's not what I meant."  
  
Unable to help it, Roxas leaned back a bit and smirked. "What's with the big rush for my trust?"  
  
Axel looked back for a second, face startlingly straight, brows slightly creased, and met Roxas' eyes. Startled, Roxas stared back the moment before Axel turned away again and felt himself again blushing furiously. Gulping and trying to breathe deeply to stop his heart from pounding, Roxas ducked his head again. He could feel something like satisfaction from Axel, and it made him blush even more.  
  
He wondered if it was more frustrating that was Axel being aggravating or just that he himself was unused to spending time getting close to someone.  
  
He sighed softly in annoyance and pressed his chin against his shoulder as he scowled out at the darkened forest landscape, remembering now just how much he hated the feeling of his heart racing for reasons outside of intense physical exertion. It made him want to insist that Axel put him down and walk on his own the rest of the way, but he knew that'd just make it take longer, even more time for the silence and embarrassment to continue. He just had to stop thinking about it.  
  
Clenching his jaw tight, he took a deep breath and held it for several seconds while looking ahead, desperate to see their destination very soon.  
  
"I can smell a city a little," Axel commented. "I'm sure it's not far ahead."  
  
"Hm." Frowning, Roxas leaned into him again. "Well, put me back down when we get close. I don't want to draw attention by being carried in."  
  
"You're not much fun, are you?" Axel asked, voice becoming light and joking again.  
  
Roxas sighed and rolled his eyes. "I don't see what any of this has to do with fun."  
  
Axel shrugged. "Just digging to see if you have a sense of humour buried somewhere in there. Our partnership will get pretty tense if you can't take a joke."  
  
"You could take things more seriously yourself."  
  
Slowing a little, Axel laughed. "I take serious situations seriously. You need to learn to lighten up when you're life's not on the line."  
  
"My life's always on the line," Roxas grumbled. "Are you going to put me down soon?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry." His pace slowed a little more, and, as Roxas spotted a cluster of buildings through the darkness, he stopped, hesitating a moment before crouching and releasing Roxas' legs so he could stand and step away. Roxas paused for only a second to make sure Axel still had his suitcase before heading towards the city with a swift stride, hoping to deter Axel from trying to continue talking. After a long minute of silence, though, he looked to his side to see Axel not paying the least attention to him, gazing intently around the area, nostrils flared, and he relaxed. "Is there something wrong?" he asked, lowering his voice warily.  
  
"No..." Axel whispered. "It's just a hint, but... I can smell the vampire. They've been around here for a long time."  
  
Roxas frowned a bit. "Hm." He had never had information like this going into a job. "Do you think they were alive around here or perhaps they've been watching the area in preparation?"  
  
Axel nodded. "Could be."  
  
Closing his eyes for a minute, Roxas took a deep breath. If it was the former, it was quite possible that Axel was right and the vampire was holding some kind of a grudge. If they were angry and knew the area well, that could make it more dangerous. However, Roxas had never failed before, and he had a new asset now. The vampire's intentions didn't matter.  
  
As he entered the streets, he closed his eyes for a moment to try to recall the description of the mayor's house to find it in the dark. Not being able to ask for directions was the distinct disadvantage of arriving at night.  
  
"Sir! Excuse me!" Roxas stopped as hurried footsteps ran towards them and looked back at the person running towards them, eyes round, face somewhat ashen, clothes subtly disheveled. "Excuse me, would you happen to be the hunter we asked for?"  
  
Turning to them, Roxas nodded. "Yes. Sorry I couldn't come at once, I had something else I had to handle first." He could feel a hint of amusement from Axel, and he did his best not to roll his eyes.  
  
"N-no, I understand." The stranger bit their lip, casting a glance back to Axel. "Thank you for coming, sir. We need all the help we can get. Let me take you to the place we've had arranged for you to stay, then I can take you to the mayor."  
  
Roxas nodded again. "Thank you."  
  
With a tense smile, they led the pair at a swift, uneasy pace. The stranger lead them up to a building next to a larger one then took out a key with a shaking hand to unlock to front door. "This is the mayor's guest house, she's made sure everything's ready for you and will have food brought in. You can stay as long as you need, and if you need anything, feel free to ask."  
  
Roxas nodded once more then turned to Axel and gave a stern frown, hoping he wouldn't have to explain the presence of his non-hunter companion. "Take our stuff inside and wait."  
  
Axel scowled but nodded, a spike of irritating coming from him. "Yes, _sir_." Hand tight around the handle of the suitcase, he walked past but paused to give the other person a sweet smile. "Thank you for your assistance. I hope we'll be able to help your town."  
  
Blinking rapidly, they looked down at Axel's chest for a long couple seconds before looking back with an awkward smile, hastily handing Axel the key. "Um, th-thank you."  
  
Roxas did his best not to grit his teeth as the door closed, and he was lead back away from the house.  
  
"I-I didn't know hunters travelled with assistants," the stranger muttered uncomfortably without looking back to Roxas.  
  
Roxas inwardly cringed. "Yes, it's...a relatively new idea we're trying. Not many of us are doing it. With someone to help us with small tasks such as taking care of our possessions, we're hoping to be even more efficient."  
  
The person nodded and seemed to relax slightly. "Yes, that makes sense."  
  
Roxas silently exhaled relief.  
  
They walked up to the door of the next building, and it was opened seconds after knocking. The woman behind it was slightly disheveled, clothing wrinkled and hair escaping a messy bun, with bags under her eyes, but she smiled and sighed when she looked down at Roxas. "Hello, sir, thank you for coming here." As Roxas nodded, she looked at her assistant. "And thank you for meeting him. Please, go home and try to get some sleep."  
  
"I will, ma’am, thank you." They paused to look at Roxas again for a moment before leaving. "Good luck."  
  
The mayor stepped back from the door. "Please come in. I'll try to be quick."  
  
"Thank you." Roxas stepped into the dimly lit entry dotted with plant pots, and she quickly led him to a room with a desk, a handful of chairs, and a large shelf full of books.  
  
The mayor took a deep breath then sighed and rubbed a hand over her face. "Two people were attacked, another was killed, then three have disappeared, one of them one of those attacked."  
  
Roxas nodded. "I've had to save a human hostage before." Though he was sure three would be much more difficult. He'd do the best, but he would not promise her anything.  
  
Nodding, she seemed to relax a little, reassured. She went to the desk, and Roxas followed as she leaned over to point to what he guessed to be a map of the city. “There have been a few people who saw it from their house, and they all claimed to have seen it heading in this direction.” She drew her finger to the edge of the drawn city. “There are some abandoned lodges not far away that I suspect is where it is holing up with...” She was silent a moment then sighed and shook her head. “It’s been about ten days since the first attack. A week since the first kidnapping.”  
  
Roxas nodded. If they were still alive, the first one taken away would be in rough shape. Time was of the essence if there was even a chance of the victims returning alive. “I’m sorry.”  
  
“Thank you.” She gruffly shook her head and her expression became stern as she gestured along a line drawn through the streets. “You can get closest to that area with this path. Keep heading straight, and you’ll have no problem finding the lodges. They’re marked here.” She picked up and handed him the map.  
  
Roxas looked at it a moment before folding it and nodding, looking back up at her. “Thank you for your help. I’ll be back with news as soon as I can.”  
  
She took a slightly shaking breath. “Thank you. Good luck.” He let her lead him back to the front door where he left and she closed it behind him without another word. Houses could be complicated, small and maze-like. He had only had to fight in a building a couple times before, and it was made particularly tricky when he didn’t know the layout at all. He preferred to wait and watch until they had left whatever building they hid in through the day. Being inside was a dangerous position to be in. He smiled a little to himself. Thankfully, he wouldn’t be alone this time.  
  
He opened the door to the guest house, hesitating a moment as he looked around the roomy entrance way, listening for movement. Frowning a bit, he closed the door and walked in. “Axel?”  
  
“Up here.”  
  
Roxas frowned up the stairs then sighed and walked up. He supposed he couldn’t blame Axel for not waiting somewhere more obvious rather than exploring. “Where are you? We need to go.”  
  
Axel stepped out of a door with a bit of a crooked grin. “Just checking out our lodgings. Nice place. I hope we can get away with staying here a few days.”  
  
Roxas raised an eyebrow as he walked to the room. “A few days means we’re not doing our job very well. Where did you put my suitcase?”  
  
Sighing, Axel turned back into the room and pointed to the foot of the bed. “Can’t blame me for hoping. You can’t tell me that they won’t offer to let us stay as long as we need if we do a good job.”  
  
Heading for his suitcase, Roxas cast a look around the room lit by an ornate hanging lantern. It was large, plush, luxurious. Better than where he’d stayed even in the first city he’d hunted Axel in, and those people had more than enough money to let him stay somewhere nice. “What would we even do if we stayed here once we’re done?” He picked up the suitcase and carefully set it on an ostentatious desk to open it. He noticed Axel feeling slightly uncomfortable as he pulled out what remained of his holy water, so he cast a quick glance back at Axel, staring at it with furrowed brow. He lightly bit the inside of his lip to stop himself from smiling in amusement and silently scolded himself to focus. He would need to get some more holy water after this mission was done.  
  
He sheathed his knife on his belt and pulled out his crossbow, loading a bolt before hooking it to his belt and getting some spare bolts. Maybe having Axel around would give him the time to use more than one in the heat of battle. He still couldn’t be frivolous with them, of course, but it would be nice to be able to use backups.  
  
Ready, he looked back at Axel, finally allowing a small smile. “Are you ready?”  
  
Axel grinned and unclasped his cloak, tossing it onto the bed, then held up his hands. “My weapons are always ready.”  
  
Unable to help chuckling a bit at their shared excitement, Roxas headed to the door, unfolding the map again. “Let’s not waste any more time, then.”  
  
Axel’s hand gently alighted on his shoulder for a minute as he walked, making a blush burnish his cheeks. “Right behind you.”  
  
Outside, Roxas paused to inspect the map, softly biting the inside of his cheek in the hopes that he would stop blushing, while Axel locked the door, then followed the drawn path with Axel close beside him.  
  
“So, what did the mayor tell you?”  
  
“There’s some empty lodges outside of town.” Roxas pointed to them on the map before returning his free hand to his belt. “So odds are pretty good that those will be the best place to look.”  
  
Axel nodded. “Sounds good. I guess check them for the humans first, unless we run into the vampire first.”  
  
Roxas nodded and folded the map back up, tucking it in a coat pocket, following the last few landmarks to the edge of town. There was a slight slope covered by immediately dense forest, a road wide enough for perhaps two horses cut into them, dark. Ordinarily, Roxas wouldn’t dream of going in at night where he would be completely blind and helpless and instead just keep watch for his quarry until it got lighter.  
  
He looked back at Axel. “Can you keep watch for us in there?”  
  
Axel laughed and winked. “Let’s go.”  
  
Hoping he wasn’t about to start blushing again, Roxas quickly nodded and walked to the path. He slowed a little once he was in the shadows and pulled his knife from his belt, flinching slightly when Axel gently touched his shoulder again. Within minutes, his vision was shadows with only the barest hints of moonlight, his heart was in his throat, and he was starting to regret this decision. Axel’s hand tightened slightly on his shoulder, gently guiding him through the dark. Hand tensing around his knife, Roxas looked up at him, the only thing he could see clearly between scattered patches of dim light through the trees.  
  
“I think we’re close. I can smell it.”  
  
Roxas nodded. “Be careful.” He was sure now that he had made a stupid, hasty decision, but, since they were already this far, as long as Axel stayed close, there was little point in turning back.  
  
He sighed softly when he identified the shadowy outlines of a building.  
  
“There’s someone alive in there,” Axel murmured.  
  
Roxas took a deep breath and nodded again. This would be difficult. “Alright. Find a way inside.”  
  
Axel glanced down at him with a smirk. “Might as well start with the front door.” Body tense, radiating excitement, Axel lead him to the building, putting a hand on the door for a moment before slowly pushing it open. Roxas warily held up his knife, able to faintly hear soft sobbing as he crossed the threshold. “Stay close,” Axel murmured, looking around as he slowly lead Roxas inside.  
  
It was even darker inside, but still Roxas could see the high ceiling of the front room opening to darker rooms and a narrow stairway. Axel headed for the stairs, each one creaking as the ascended. The whimpering grew louder from down a narrow hallway. Axel went immediately to a door, jiggling the knob momentarily before giving it a hard tug, and the frame splintered.  
  
Someone wailed. “No, no, please!”  
  
Roxas entered a step behind Axel. “Shh, we’re here to help,” he whispered, nervous about the vampire laying in wait somewhere near.  
  
The sobbing went silent for a second. There were only the narrowest beams of light entering between the cracks of a boarded window. “Y-you...” The crying redoubled as someone lunged from the corner, and Roxas threw up his hand brandishing the knife as Axel threw out an arm to catch them.  
  
“Stop!” Axel snapped. Roxas stood tense as Axel let the person go and looked back at Roxas. “I don’t think it’s nearby.”  
  
Roxas relaxed a little as he nodded and lowered his knife. “We need you to stay calm, okay?” Roxas turned to the captive, only barely able to see their eyes in the low light, but holding their gaze regardless. “If you make noise, the vampire could hear you and come to investigate.”  
  
The human’s eyes widened slightly as they nodded. “Y-yes,” they breathed, and Roxas nodded back then looked at Axel a moment, considering their options. Things would only get harder from here.  
  
“Listen to me, okay?” Roxas looked back into the captive’s eyes. “Do you know where the others are?”  
  
Their eyes widened a bit as they shook their head.  
  
“Okay.” Roxas glanced at Axel again. “We’re going to go take a quick look around for them. It’s going to be safest if you wait for us.” His brow furrowed as their mouth started to open. “We won’t go far, but we need to look for the others,” he insisted before they could talk. “You can hide somewhere in the building if you’d like, but if you leave, you’re only going to be in more danger. Do you understand?”  
  
They nodded quickly.  
  
“Good.” Roxas stepped back and looked at Axel once more. “If you see the vampire, just yell and we’ll come right away. We won’t be far.”  
  
“Okay,” they whispered, shaking, and Roxas gestured for Axel to go ahead of him.  
  
Axel nodded and left, Roxas following close behind. When they got back outside, Axel paused and looked at him with a grin. “We won’t go far?”  
  
Roxas raised an eyebrow. “As long as you can hear if they yell, it’ll be fine.”  
  
“Somewhere as quiet as this, that’s pretty far.” Axel looked out into the trees and took a deep breath, putting his hand back on Roxas’ shoulder. “This way.”  
  
Roxas breathed as quietly as he could as he followed Axel back into the shadows of the trees, listening intently for any movement. He felt Axel’s hand tense slightly when a distant night bird gave a call. He exhaled heavily when another building came to sight.  
  
“Someone’s crying in there,” Axel muttered, eyes narrowing slightly as they scanned the windows.  
  
Inhaling deeply to settle his pounding heart, Roxas nodded. “Be careful.”  
  
Axel chuckled softly, grinning. “Do you really think you need to tell me that? Come on.” Releasing Roxas’ shoulder, he strode ahead to the door, grin lingering on his face as he glanced at Roxas before slowly pressing it open.  
  
Roxas stayed a just step behind him as they entered. Once again, he could hear the muffled crying once inside. He stopped when Axel did and looked up to try to see his face among the shadows.  
  
“It’s in here,” Axel breathed, as quiet as the voices from further inside.  
  
Roxas instinctively stiffened and held his knife at the ready once more, angling his head to try to catch the words spoken beyond the walls. He breathed quietly and willed his heart to slow in order to dim the thumping in his ears. There were two distinct voices, one low and steady, the other blubbering in the gaps between sobs. Roxas glanced at Axel again and nodded, gesturing towards the sounds with the hilt of his knife. Axel silently turned and stalked silently down the hall, and Roxas again followed at his heels.  
  
A stifled scream. Then an uninhibited one.  
  
Roxas had hardly registered the noise when Axel was suddenly racing ahead, stealth abandoned. Roxas’ heart leapt. “Wait!” he hissed furiously just as Axel broke open a door and burst inside. Silently cursing, heart pounding, he hurried down the hall, assured the continuing screams covered the noise of his footsteps. Candlelight spilled from the shattered doorway along with the sounds of overturning furniture. Roxas was momentarily started by the sensation of a thrill of excitement. Jaw clenched, he leaned into the wall then carefully looked around the corner. Axel grappled on the floor, the figure under him a blur of flailing limbs trying to get him off. A sickly-looking human clutched another, limp and bloody, and continued to scream and cry.  
  
Allowing a soft growl of anger, Roxas quickly took his crossbow in hand before entering the room. “Hold it still and get out of the way!” he snapped, shouting over the noise, holding the crossbow to his shoulder.  
  
Grinning and exuding an animalistic glee, Axel fought off his opponent’s grabbing, punching hands to grab its shoulders and pin them to the floor, pulling back as far as he could and locking his elbows to keep the other vampire down.  
  
As Roxas took a step to find a clear shot, the vampire looked up at him, eyes widening. “No, no! Wait!”  
  
It screamed and its spine arched, legs kicking at the floor, as the bolt pierced its chest. Roxas loaded another bolt and aimed it as well.  
  
“No!” The vampire whimpered and writhed, coughing out a mouthful of blood that dribbled over its face, body convulsing, clawing at its own chest and grasping at the bolt. Staring up past Axel with bare panic, it made a gurgling noise as its struggles slowed, then its hands fell still, and its head thumped as it hit the floor.  
  
Axel and Roxas were both still for several seconds, watching it, then Axel sighed and sat back on his heels with a smirk. “No problems at all.”  
  
Jaw tightening, Roxas felt his hands clench around his crossbow for a moment before he took a breath, hands shaking slightly as his heart continued to race, then stepped forward and struck Axel in the head with the crossbow. “What the hell do you think you were doing?” he snapped as Axel yelled out, head knocked forward.  
  
“Hey! I was helping you rescue people! What the hell else was I supposed to do?” Axel shouted, lip curled as he glared and held a hand against his head. “You know, that’s the second time you’ve used that thing as a melee weapon against me; you sure you know what you’re doing with it?”  
  
Willing himself not to shake, Roxas didn’t bother looking down as he strapped the crossbow back to his belt. “You just ran into the room without stopping to think! That’s not how hunters work!”  
  
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize it doesn’t matter if you kill the target, you’ve gotta go through the proper steps first!” Axel put his hands on his knees then stood, scowling as he dusted his clothing off.  
  
“If I don’t want to risk throwing my life away, it does!”  
  
Crossing his arms, Axel rolled his eyes, and Roxas felt a sharp prick in his mouth that momentarily startled him before it occurred to him that Axel had bitten the inside of his own cheek. He turned away towards the cringing captive humans. This wasn’t the time to remind Axel that one of them had less physical limitations than the other.  
  
The woman wailed and curled around the body she still clung to, hair clinging to the places where her face was wet with tears and snot. “No-ho-ho!” she sobbed. “He”—a wet hiccough—“He’s a-uh vampire! Wuh-what are you doing? You su-supposed to kill them! Kill it! Kill it ple-hease!”  
  
Roxas took a deep breath then exhaled with a touch of a groan. “What did you think was going to happen if you just burst through a door and grapple a vampire bare-handed?” he grumbled, looking towards the door to avoid having to look at anyone else in the room.  
  
Axel was silent, and the blubbering and begging filled the emptiness of the room.  
  
With a sigh, Roxas stiffly turned back to Axel, brow furrowed, jaw tight. “You know you need to do something about this, don’t you?”  
  
As Axel sighed, eyebrow raised slightly, faintly shaking his head, the woman screamed.  
  
“No! Oh, please, no! I won’t tell anyone! Please!”  
  
Roxas raised an eyebrow back and unloaded his crossbow without breaking eye contact. “Well?”  
  
“I get it.”  
  
“No!” Roxas didn’t have the heart to look, to apologize, when he heard the sound of frantic scrambling against the floor. He looked down to unload his crossbow as Axel darted past him. There was a heavy thump, then an ear-piercing scream, then it ended suddenly with a deep and cracking thud.  
  
Roxas sighed and turned and walked towards the doorway where Axel crouched, stopping behind him. There was another silence, deeper this time. Roxas shifted, causing a soft creak from the floor. His jaw remained tense.  
  
Axel only barely turned his head, just enough to look back at Roxas, brow furrowed, then quickly turned back around and leaned over the body, pulling back the head to bite and rip open the throat, releasing a stream of blood.  
  
Roxas’ frown deepened, but what was there to protest? It only made sense. He turned back around, to look at the body of the other human and that of the vampire. They couldn’t reasonably carry back three bodies on their own, especially if the surviving victim was weak or wounded and needed help. He didn’t feel comfortable leaving a recently dead vampire’s body unguarded, but the townspeople would likely want the bodies of their friends and family to be returned to them as soon as possible. Roxas sighed quietly. Sentiment was the thing he hated fighting the most.  
  
If nothing else, he could tidy the scene up a bit. Slowly taking deep breaths to try to keep himself calm, keeping his anger at bay for now, he rolled the corpse onto its back and neatly laid its arms over its chest and closed its eyes. There wasn’t much that could be done to cover the bloody hole at the base of its neck or the dark pool still seeping into the creases of the floor.  
  
He walked over to the vampire’s body and crossed his arms. “When you’re finished, put the body next to the other one. The townspeople can collect them; we need to make sure the vampire’s body is disposed of.”  
  
He heard a low grunt of acknowledgement and waited several seconds before hearing the sound of dragging. Axel stepped to his side and crouched without a word, easily throwing the vampire’s body over his shoulder then turning and walking to the door. Rolling his eyes and sighing hard, Roxas paused to blow out the candles before following him from the building, hand trailing the wall to stay oriented in the dark walk to the door.  
  
He caught up to Axel just as they entered the shadows of the trees. Instinctively, his heart beat a bit harder and his jaw tightened the darker it got, eyes darting to every shaft of moonlight, then he jumped when Axel’s hand fell onto his shoulder. He looked up at his shadowy profile.  
  
“Sorry,” Axel muttered. “I know I messed that up. Got too excited to see some action.”  
  
Roxas took a deep breath then sighed. “We can talk about it when we get back.”  
  
Axel nodded.  
  
When they emerged in sight of the first building, Roxas lengthened his stride, walking out from under Axel’s hand, and wordlessly headed inside. He headed back to the room the captive had been in. “Are you in there?”  
  
He heard a moment of scrambling, then faintly saw a shape poke out from behind the door. “You killed it?”  
  
Roxas nodded. “Yes. We’ll escort you back to town.”  
  
“Oh, thank goodness,” the former captive breathed and stumbled out towards him, reaching for him, so Roxas lightly took a hold of their forearm and guided their hand to his shoulder to help support them. “And...the others?”  
  
“I’m sorry, they were already dead.”  
  
“Oh...”  
  
Supporting the weight leaning on his shoulder, Roxas helped them from the house where Axel waited, going to Roxas’ other side to again hold his shoulder and guide them all through the dark forest, back to town.  
  
The person remained silent when they walked past the buildings at the edge of town. Roxas looked up at them in the streetlights, their eyelids hanging low, eyes puffy, heavily bruised, hair clumped in one area with blood. But they had been left alone while the other two were together, one of them killed. The vampire’s grudge had to have been personal.  
  
Roxas looked back ahead, squeezing his eyes shut a moment. Not that it could matter anymore. He shrugged off Axel’s hand.  
  
Outside the mayor’s house, he faltered a moment before looking back at Axel. “Wait outside a minute. She probably won’t want that thing in her house.”  
  
Axel chuckled and nodded. “Don’t blame her. Go ahead.”  
  
Roxas nodded back then helped the former captive up the couple stairs to the front door and knocked. It only took a few seconds before it was yanked open.  
  
The mayor visibly sighed with relief and smiled when she looked at the person at Roxas’ side. “Thank goodness! Come inside! I’ll call the doctor immediately.”  
  
“Thank you,” the person whispered breathlessly, and Roxas helped them inside and to the dimly lit sitting room the mayor gestured to before rushing into her office. Roxas sighed faintly when the person’s weight left his shoulder, easing into a seat, and turned to the door to wait for the mayor to return. He ignored the muffled sobbing behind him.  
  
A minute later, the mayor came back, a smile on her face despite her lingering signs of exhaustion. “Thank you so much. I was scared no one would be brought back alive!”  
  
Roxas nodded once. “The vampire’s been taken care of.”  
  
The mayor’s face lit up for a moment before stiffening with realization then falling. “Then...”  
  
Roxas nodded again. “I’m sorry, the other two captives were dead when we found them.”  
  
Eyes closing, the mayor took a deep breath then shook her head. “Well, thanks to you, at least someone was able to return. And at least their killer has been brought to justice.”  
  
“We couldn’t carry all of the bodies, so we left them in the cabin for you to collect and be given proper burials. We will need some fire wood so we can burn the vampire’s body.”  
  
Nodding, the mayor wiped her eyes and took another deep breath. “Of course. Um, behind the house you are staying at is a courtyard that should be safe for a fire. There are sheds with firewood beside that house and mine, please take whatever you need to get rid of her. Please, get some rest tonight, and tomorrow I can arrange your payment.”  
  
Roxas nodded once more. _Her._ She did know something about the vampire, more than she had said. “I’m sorry for your loss.”  
  
He could hear the crying and soft murmurs of comfort until the front door closed behind him.  
  
Axel looked up at him and raised a silent eyebrow.  
  
Roxas gestured with his head towards the next door house. “She says there’s a courtyard behind the house. Let’s get this finished.”  
  
“Good. I’m getting real tired of having this thing hanging on my shoulder.”  
  
They rounded the neat hedges and crossed the short lawn, passing a small enclosed shed that Roxas assumed had the firewood, to a stone-paved courtyard dotted with raised flower beds, fully lit with the faint blue of the moon. Roxas located a spot clear of the edge and the flowers and pointed to it for Axel. “Get some wood, and I’ll go get my flint then help you with it.”  
  
Axel grunted as he dropped the body then turned with a grin and a wink. “Be quick about it. I don’t want to handle this wood all on my own.”  
  
“Mmh-hm.” Just as Roxas turned, he saw Axel frown a bit and sensed a flicker of disappointment, but it wasn’t enough to stop him, and he walked back to the front of the house to get inside.  
  
Once back in the dimly lit room, he put down his crossbow then suddenly sighed. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head. At least they’d have plenty of time to talk, though he knew now he should have thought to do that before they went on the mission.  
  
He shook himself from his thoughts and quickly removed his outer coat and his guards then went to his suitcase to get flint then went back outside. He saw Axel carefully stacking an armful of chopped wood at the shed and stopped beside him to grab some smaller pieces. Axel was smiling again.  
  
Already some wood had been laid out on the ground with the body, positioned with legs straight and arms at its side, rolled on top of it. Roxas placed the flint on the edge of a flower bed before helping Axel place the larger pieces of wood around and on top of it to create a pyre.  
  
“You do this part for all of your jobs?” Axel asked, looking up as he finished.  
  
Roxas shrugged and got the flint. “Not always. Depends on the locals.” He exhaled as he crouched and pulled some of the vampire’s clothes away from the body, rubbing between his fingers and deciding it would work as kindling. “Sometimes, they get the wood ready as soon as I arrive, so I’ll just make sure that the fire gets started and leave them to watch over it.” He pushed as much fabric as he could in and around the wood before striking the flint. “But I’ve done it on my own a lot of times.” When the sparks caught the fabric and tongues of flame started to eat away at it, he began to turn to get the smaller pieces of wood, only for Axel to hand a couple to him, suddenly at his side. Roxas inexplicably felt himself blushing as he took them, eyes darting back to the fire. “Thanks.” One by one, he pushed them into the flames until they caught, and the fire grew, starting to burn at the larger pieces. Axel’s sudden proximity made him shift uncomfortably in place. “What about you? You seem to have known what you were doing.”  
  
“Once or twice.” Roxas glanced out of the corner of his eye to see Axel staring into the fire with a smile, face lit orange.  
  
Looking back down, Roxas was satisfied that the wood was burning well, and the flesh exposed by burning fabric was starting to burn and peel, so he stood and took a couple steps back to sit on the stones that made up the flower beds.  
  
Axel followed suit, sighing as he sat. Roxas watched him out of the corner of his eye as he brought a heel up to to edge of the stones and leaned onto a hand placed between them.  
  
Roxas took a breath. “You know you absolutely can’t rush into a situation like that ever again.”  
  
Axel sighed and cringed. “Yeah. Sorry. That got messy.”  
  
“It’s not just that someone was able to figure out what you are.” Roxas let himself turn to give Axel a frown. “What if there had been more than one vampire? What if it had had a weapon nearby or otherwise had been able to beat you off, even for a moment? Especially in close quarters like that, if I had been exposed, it could have done a lot of damage if it got to me before I was ready.”  
  
Axel winced a bit. “Hm. Yeah, fair enough. I’ll follow your lead in the future.” His eyes flicked off and stared into the distance.  
  
Looking down at his lap and absently rubbing his thigh, Roxas frowned. “I...I get that you decided you could try to stop whatever was going on and save the people in there, but... You have to understand, I don’t have the luxury of even considering saving people who are already in a vampire’s reach. I have to kill the vampire. If I have to let someone die so I’ll be able to do that, I will. I have to.”  
  
Axel chortled. “I guess I never really thought about that. Hunters sacrificing other humans to save their own hides.” Jaw clenching, Roxas looked back up only for Axel to look at him and laugh. “Take it easy. I know, your job is to kill vampires, and you can’t do that if you’re dead. Better a couple dead bystanders than a dead hunter letting the vampire continue preying on anyone”  
  
Roxas looked back at the rapidly expanding flames. “Exactly.”  
  
“Scared you, didn’t it?”  
  
Blinking, Roxas stiffened for a moment before looking at Axel again. Though he was facing forward, a grin hung on Axel’s lips. Roxas scowled, and his hands tightened on his legs. “Where the hell did you get that idea? It made me mad, but I didn’t expose myself to the vampire, so I had no reason to be afraid.”  
  
Axel laughed. “I think I felt a little fear from you there. I was distracted, but I got a pretty good taste of what your fear feels like when we were walking around in the dark.”  
  
Even as he felt the heat from the fire starting to touch his shin, warmth crawled up Roxas’ neck and across his face. “So? I... I’m not in the habit of walking around in the dark when I know a vampire’s around, you know. Of course it worried me, I’m not used to it!”  
  
“So, you’re afraid of the dark?” Axel’s grin grew, eyes glinting as they caught the flickering light. When he turned to face Roxas, half his face fell in deep blue shadow.  
  
Roxas scowled as he lifted his right leg to tuck it under the left knee to try to protect it somewhat from the heat, even though that caused him to lean slightly towards Axel. “Only when a vampire could very well be hiding in wait to kill me.”  
  
“What about one that will just bite you?” Axel playfully cocked his head.  
  
Scoffing and shaking his head, Roxas looked back at the burning corpse, focusing on watching the dark landscape of the body gradually crumble within its cocoon of wood and flame. The skin had split, exposing the fat to burn vigorously. “Do you get something out of being this obnoxious?”  
  
His eyes flicked back down when Axel’s hand touched his chin, then he scowled again as his face was turned back to Axel’s. “I just like to play around. I’ll wear down your stoicism and find a flicker of humour eventually.”  
  
Roxas silently rolled his eyes and gave a small shake of his head.  
  
“It’s in there. I’ve lived a lot longer than you; I know everyone has a soft core somewhere. No matter how deeply it may be hidden.” Roxas gulped and looked away when Axel softly stroked his jaw. “Will you let me kiss you again?”  
  
Roxas snapped his gaze back to Axel’s, blushing all over again. “Really?”  
  
Axel laughed and shrugged.  
  
Scoffing, Roxas lifted his chin free of Axel’s hand and faced forward yet again. “Absolutely not.”  
  
“Hmm.” After a pronounced moment of silence, Roxas jumped when Axel’s hand sat on top of his. “Watching a corpse burn doesn’t put you in the mood, huh?”  
  
Roxas squirmed a bit, body suddenly feeling set aflame, not unlike it had just that morning. He wanted to pull away, but couldn’t make himself move. “If I promise to kiss you after, will you go jump in the fire yourself?” he grumbled.  
  
Axel laughed again, scooting closer. “For just a kiss? No. Maybe stick my hand in for a few seconds, but that’s it.”  
  
Roxas couldn’t stop himself from snorting a laugh. He couldn’t help wondering what it’d be like to watch flesh burn away then mend itself, to see the human structures under Axel’s skin, even if only briefly. “What would it take, then?”  
  
“Hm.” Axel’s hand pressed more firmly against Roxas’, fingers curling around it. “Well, if you said you would give up this life and we could just strike out on our own, deal with whatever happened to us, get to know each other in peace, I’d lay myself down in that fire without hesitation.”  
  
Roxas laughed openly. “Too bad I’d never say that.”  
  
“And I’d never stand in a fire if given half a choice.” Axel leaned so their shoulders bumped together.  
  
Looking at his lap, Roxas softly pushed his shoulder back. The radiating heat was increasingly uncomfortable against the side of his body facing the fire while the back of his neck felt a little chilled.  
  
Axel sighed softly, pressing his weight into Roxas a little more. “So, what do you usually do while you burn bodies?”  
  
Sighing as well, Roxas shrugged. “Whatever I need to do at the time. Clean my weapons, mend my clothes, so on. If I don’t have anything to do, like now, I’ll plan out what I’ll be doing next and looking around at whatever is around, just resting.”  
  
“Hm. What are we going to do next?”  
  
“After we get paid, I need to stock up on some supplies. Holy water, mostly.” Axel shifted a bit against his side. “So, we’ll head back to the train.”  
  
Axel chuckled. “I never really thought how much of a hunter’s life is spent travelling around on trains.”  
  
“There’s a lot of that, yeah.”  
  
Roxas closed his eyes and listened to the fire crackling. Something gave a soft pop. It was warm. Axel’s fingers moved gently against his own. It felt strangely pleasant. He unconsciously leaned against Axel more, angling his head towards him.  
  
“You like it when I touch you,” Axel whispered, leaning his head against Roxas’.  
  
Roxas flinched and turned his head away, blushing. “So? It feels nice.” He looked at the fence, the house walls beyond. His eyes flicked to the windows. Empty, but had they been the whole time? Would they stay that way? He yanked his hand free of Axel’s and crossed his arms across his lap. It shouldn’t matter if anyone saw them sitting beside each other, but, all the same, it was glaringly obvious to everyone that something wasn’t right about the two of them being together.  
  
Axel sighed heavily, but Roxas didn’t want to look at him again. His stomach was clenched and churning. Axel’s disappointment was becoming an uncomfortably familiar feeling.  
  
“Well, I guess you’ve got this handled. Not like she’s going to jump out at you now.” Roxas glanced over as Axel stood, frowning, brow furrowed. “I’ll leave you alone and go check out the house some more.”  
  
“Hm.” Roxas watched Axel without moving his head until he was out of sight then waited a full minute before exhaling and allowing himself to relax again, moving his arms to his sides. He rubbed his eyes before looking up at the sky, the drifting smoke filtering out the stars between the scattered clouds.  
  
Closing his eyes, he tried to focus on the feelings at the edge of his awareness that weren’t quite familiar. Annoyance. Disappointment. He shook his head as he opened his eyes again. What did Axel honestly want from him? What did he expect?  
  
Sex, Roxas supposed. He had been open about his own lust when they had made their arrangement. Just thinking about it made him blush again. It had felt so present then, yet when the opportunity had presented itself that morning...  
  
Alone, Roxas could admit that it scared him, though he hadn’t expected it to. How could he since he had never been put in that situation before? He sighed and turned his attention back down to the ground, back to the garden, eyes wandering the stones and flowers making strange shadows in the flickering light. The fear had crept up in the back of his mind like a featureless shadow.  
  
He shook the thought from his head. Axel couldn’t honestly expect that kind of intimacy after hardly knowing each other a day. He had nothing to apologize for or feel guilty about. He would continue to permit Axel to feed from him when needed, he would consider other physical contact depending on the situation. That was enough in exchange for Axel’s assistance. It wasn’t as if they had many other options to handle whatever it was that had drawn them together.


End file.
